So it wasn't a dream!
by Morristown Colonial
Summary: My version of the wedding that should have taken place. Lots of fluff and fun with a bitter sweet twist at the end.
1. Chapter 1

**Story and A/N: I know it has been a long while for any post by me. Even though I have not finished some other stories, I needed to get this out during the summer hiatus. There have been many excellent post 6x23 fanfics. This is my version of how the wedding should have been. This one is different then most. I have tried to incorporate the story line, but have also added things from real life weddings I have been to. There will be a character death somewhere in this story. It was suggested to me after I read some comments about the season 6 finale. I took one of those scenario's along with bits and pieces of a lesser known story (about a certain British Secret Agent) and came up with this. I have made a promise to my self and now to you, my readers, that I will not post anything unless I have finished the story or have finished at least three chapters ahead or I have finished the other stories that have been posted. **

The Castle characters are not mine. Their use, or the use of, or resemblance of any other characters, to any persons, living or dead, and the words and opinions they may speak are my creations just for the story and should not be attributed to them.

_Castle awoke with a start. Sitting bolt upright in bed, he could not remember how he got back to the loft. He was on Beckett's side of the bed and she was no where to be found. The whole bed was rumpled so he figured that she was indisposed at the moment or making coffee. Then again, he could not smell coffee so that left the former. Castle's shoulders and ribs hurt and his legs were cramping. He was without a t-shirt but wearing his boxers. It was not uncommon that he would wake up a little achy. Ever since their first get together after the rain storm, when Beckett would show Castle just how nimble she was he would ache in new places and in new ways. A new top ten was born. He wished he could tell Espisito, but knew if he did, Beckett would hurt him just enough to take the joy out of their bedroom escapades for long time to come._

_As Castle rubbed his eyes, he saw a book on the end table. It was "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". It was not unusual for him to have books about a "certain British secret agent." After all it was "Casino Royale" that got him into writing in the first place. When Castle was considering taking the writing job for that storied franchise, he bought all of the original books and read them again and again. Even though he passed on that opportunity, those books provided some inspiration for the Nikki Heat series (though he would never admit that to Beckett). _

_It was a little unnerving that Castle could not remember last night. The last time he had lost a chunk of time like this, was when he woke up handcuffed to Beckett. Since then, he and Beckett had been handcuffed to each other and alone many times, but he ALWAYS remembered them. Taking a deep breath, Castle closed his eyes and..._.

He is in the car, driving toward his destiny. The divorce was finalized and the wedding license in his pocket. Castle was not normally one to use his stature and money for personal gain. He instilled in Alexis that their good fortune does not make them better or worse then anyone else. Using the money in a careless and carefree manner would make more trouble for them then it was worth. Still, having it was handy on occasion. Without it he would never had occasion to make friends with the Mayor and Judge Markaway His charm, compassion and humor made them friends but his contributions gave him the introductions. " ... oh and Kate," he said as he finished his call, "I love you!"

"I love you too." was her response. Even though he knew it, Castle would never, ever get tired of hearing it.

Ryan and Esposito greeted him at the door. "Yo bro, got everything?"

"All in order." Castle replied.

"Ok, I will take the papers to Judge Markaway. He said he needs a minute to look them over and then we can start whenever your ready." Esposito went off to find the Judge.

"What are you more excited about, the wedding or the honeymoon?", Ryan asked.

"I guess the wedding."

Ryan looked puzzled, "Oh really, why?"

"I have been away with Beckett many times. We have relaxing vacations and working vacations. Don't get me wrong, I am looking forward to playing some Scrabble with Beckett and many games of our special type of poker. I am sure there will be midnight swims, suits optional. All without interruption from work, friends or family."

"And that is not worth getting excited about because...?"

Castle continued, "Because my good man, vacations are private moments, shared with a select group of people. Weddings are public. We are taking our vows in front of our friends, family, god and country. People we love. Our declaration of love for one another is now known to the universe. When things get difficult and we cannot work them out together, we have the 'universe' to help us, the universe to watch over us and the universe to answer to IF ... "

"IF?" Ryan quizzed.

"I do not want to think about it, this is for forever." Castle said.

"That's the way Jenny and I felt then and feel now."

Castle smiled, "Plus it doesn't hurt to let those others like Demming and motor-cycle boy that Kate is with me."

Ryan laughed and was about to say something else when a certain red headed Best "man" called out, "You both had better move it or no forever and always. The Judge has to leave soon."

Castle patted Ryan on the back and said, "Let's do this before the universe interferes again."

Jenny Ryan met her husband and Castle near the end of the house. She was about to say something when she looked up at the window and her mouth fell open. At first Kevin thought something had happened to Jenny. He was scared. Instinct took over and he rushed to Jenny and looked up too. He went slack jawed too. Now Castle was very concerned.

As he got closer to the Ryans, Castle saw them mouth to the window "You look amazing." Jenny started to tear. "What is going on?" he cried. Castle was about to look up when Kevin grabbed him. "Beckett is in the window in her wedding dress. She looks..."

"I know, amazing" Castle said as he turned around to gaze up at Kate.

Ryan tried to grab him to stop him from seeing her as he yelled, "Stop! it is bad luck to see her before she walks down the isle, you told me so yourself." he said. Too late, Castle was transfixed on his bride. She saw him and flashed a smile so full of joy, brightness and love that it could light the Atlantic from the Hamptons, NY to Southampton, England.

Castle thought, 'memory is a funny thing. It is a bag which is always filling, but never gets full. It is an unorganized jumble of thoughts, feelings, sights, sounds and smells that gets co-mingled with new memories every second. Mostly then, to try and retrieve a single memory or related group of memories, is a Herculean task, especially as one gets older.' Castle knew that this memory and the rest of this day would be one of the easiest memories to retrieve. Each sound, sight, smell and feeling would be as vivid in the future as it was at this moment. It couldn't be any other way.

Lanie and Martha appeared at the window and gently moved Kate away. At the same time, Esposito called to Ryan and Castle, "Yo, I was told by Alexis to get you guys to the stand right away, or she will have me in a vice." Castle just nodded and started walking toward Esposito.

Ryan laughed, "Javi, good natured, gentle Alexis scares you?"

"Are you kidding, bro? With her flaming red hair and the look she gave me, I know the torments of Hell await if I do not do her bidding. She looks scarier then Beckett when Beckett is mad and you know that is pretty scary."

Castle concurred, "I know that look. Just the thought..." he shook his head and grimaced as he thought more about his encounter's with Determined Alexis. His pace quickened to his spot.

The day was perfect. Mostly blue skies, with a smattering of bright white, puffy clouds, a gentle chop in the water below making for a nice contrast to the still sky. A gentle wind gathered up the wisps of hair from all the women's finely coiffed heads. This added an appealing sensuality to their otherwise formal dress and manner. Castle was entranced.

Judge Markaway gave a nod to Alexis that he was ready. Alexis signaled the band to begin playing the processional. Castle had a twinge of regret about the band. He should have reminded Alexis and his mother to get a DJ because that is what Beckett really wanted. As they were waiting a minute or two to walk down the aisle so everyone could be seated, Castle thought he had the sound of feedback. It did not come from the direction of the band. He turned and saw a large DJ stand on the porch, setting up for later. There was no way he could thank his mother and Alexis for this detail.

As Castle began to walk down the aisle, with a red head on each arm, he felt a very satisfying warmth in his soul, like when he slowly savored a good scotch. With that gesture, Castle knew that Beckett was fully accepted into the Castle clan as no other woman ever was or ever could be.

When Castle neared the stand, he stopped, turned to his mother gave her a kiss and hug like never before. "I really love her," he whispered to his mother, "but if not for you and your special words that day two years ago, I would not be here. Thank you!"

"Richard, I knew early on that Katherine was special. I am just glad that I could make you see it before it was too late. You and Alexis mean the world to me and now, so does Katherine. I love you both very much. Now do this thing kiddo." Martha tried to sneak a tissue from her purse as she went to her seat. As she down, one of the wait staff handed her a hankershiff. He looked very familiar, but when Martha looked for him after she wiped her eyes, he was gone.

Castle and Alexis reached Judge Markaway's side and turned around as the rest of the wedding party came up the aisle. Castle turned to the judge and whispered, "Our vows are not to long judge, I know you want to get in 9 if you can before sundown." Markaway and Castle laughed until Alexis poked her father to stop.

Following Castle and Alexis were Esposito and Lanie. They looked so good together as they walked down the path. Each was thrilled that Beckett and Castle had finally reached this point. Each thought to themselves that the other looked great too and both wondered whether they would be doing this together soon. About halfway, Lanie switched her bouquet to her hand farthest from Javi. Instinctively then he reached for her hand and they held hands till they reached the wedding podium. Javier squeezed her hand just a bit and gave Lanie a kiss on the cheek before they took their positions. Castle smiled.

Next came Ryan and Jenny. They looked as giddy as they did on their wedding day. Ryan took his place next to Javier, while Jenny took her seat. Castle overheard Alexis whisper to Ryan, "I was so busy with everything I forgot to ask about Sarah Grace. Who is taking care of her?"

Ryan smiled, "Alexis, with an Irish family there is never a lack of babysitters. In fact Jenny and I had to limit the group, what with her parents, my parents, her brothers and my sisters, I thought a civil war would break out with each side trying to babysit Sarah Grace. She is more secure with them then if she were at the 12th." Both smiled.

Maddie and Carly followed Jenny and Ryan. Besides being old friends of Beckett, they were needed to balance out the wedding party. Carly came with her 'boring' husband and Maddie was there with a date. Both men were already seated. When Carly and Maddie took their place next to Lanie, Alexis nodded at the band leader. The traditional processional started to play and all stood up and turned to watch Beckett come down the aisle.

**End Note: The next chapter will be up in a day or so to give you all time to ruminate and let me know what you think it. Rest assured, the story will be finished and fully posted before season 7. Thanks to everybody who takes the time to write reviews. I love them. Remember 'Reviews feed the Muse.' Keep them coming, good, bad or indifferent. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter and A/N: I took some wedding procedure out of order, but I think it fit my story better. Besides, when has Caskett done anything conventional. I paraphrased some of the vows Beckett and Castle say to one another from fan fiction from NCIS, **_Secret Love__**. **_**I thought it very appropriate. I used Google translate to come up with the I love you in Serbian, French and Italian, in deference to the languages Stana Katic speaks. I think they should use her language talent more often.**

The Castle characters are not mine. Their use, or the use of, or resemblance of any other characters, to any persons, living or dead, and the words and opinions they may speak are my creations just for the story and should not be attributed to them.

As Kate approached, Rick saw that she still had the mega-watt smile he noticed from the window before. The mid-afternoon sunlight streaked her hair and made her eyes as bright and clear as flawless emeralds. Castle was in awe, as he watched Jim Beckett escort his only daughter and Castle's partner, best friend and lover, the last steps to... finally... becoming his wife. This feeling of joy, contentment, optimism, peace and love was only second to the time he held Alexis in his arms for the first time. He would have stood there forever, in this perfect moment if he hadn't felt Alexis poke him to nudge him forward to accept his bride. A big grin broke on Castle's face, he kissed the top of Alexis head and whispered, "Thanks, I love you pumpkin." and moved to meet his future.

Castle met both Becketts about 15 feet from the marriage podium. He took Kate's hand in one of his and Jim's in the other. The cool breeze stopped, as if to give the three a private moment. Jim Beckett looked straight at Castle. At first Castle could not really tell what Jim Beckett was feeling. He was afraid that Kate's father was not 100% happy with this arrangement. Castle could relate. It was the same way he felt with Pi and Alexis. Even after a time, Castle was never, ever going to feel 100% with Alexis and Pi. Jim Beckett held Castle's gaze for what Castle thought was hours. All of a sudden Kate gigled and poked her father. She whispered only loud enough for both the men to hear, "Dad, I love him with all of my heart, now and always."

Castle echoed those sentiments, "Mr. Beckett, I have gone down different paths, not finding the right one till Kate came along." Both Beckett's gave Castle a quizzical look.

"What I mean is that I it is hard to find someone turn to when you need answers, I mean it took me three tries," Now each Beckett looked at Castle with a blank stare. "I'm not saying this very well, am I?"

"I think you are doing fine, Rick." Jim Beckett smiled. "Katie has told me from day 1 that you're quite a man and she has always been a good judge of character. You are much smarter then you look and I know you love her now and always. As a father, I think you can relate to this when I tell you that you are the kind of man that Johanna and I would have picked for Katie." At that instant, the sun peaked behind a cloud for a moment and then returned. The brief "fly by" was lost on all but the three standing in aisle there. They all recognized in that moment that Johanna Beckett also gave her approval.

None of them knew how much time they actually stood there. A helicopter hovered overhead for a minute then flew by almost drowning out Judge Markaway. "Counsel," he called "Who gives this bride to this groom?"

"I do your honor, with great joy and confidence in both of them." Jim called back.

"Well then, will the bride and groom approach the bench?" The crowd chuckled. Kate and Rick joined hands like they had so many times before and approached, in perfect step, their new beginning.

In a clear voice that Judge Markaway had perfected in his court room being on the bench for over 30 years, he began, "In deference to the groom's unmatched way with words and the bride's quite remarkable way to get at the point with little ambiguity, I will try to keep my remarks short." The crowd laughed, especially a few lawyer friends of Jim Beckett, many of whom had appeared before the Judge when he was in civil division and remembered his long winded way with words. Markaway continued, " We are all gathered here, friends and family, to witness Katherine Houghton Beckett and Richard Edgar Alexander Rodgers Castle commit to each other as life partners. They will vow to each other, in their own unique way, everlasting love and honor, but most of all respect, respect of each other's uniqueness and sameness that makes them together, greater then the sum of their parts."

Markaway continued, "I first met Richard Castle in court. As he loves to tell, most of his legal claims are on the large side. I found him to be a cocky and a bit condescending, almost arrogant. I ruled against him and his claim. Luckily for me, my decision was overruled and eventually the matter settled. When I next saw Castle, it was at a small organization fundraiser. One of my court officer's children was very sick. The union was trying to raise money to meet non-covered expenses, of which there was a lot. Castle had overheard two of the fundraisers talking about it in line at one of his book signings. He offered to help and the event raised over $15000. I heard that when Castle found out the child was a girl about Alexis age, he matched the funds. Money is easy to give when you have it. I was not so impressed about the matching funds. I started to change my mind though when I saw that Castle stayed late, helped the organizers clean up and kept them entertained while they were doing so.

"I found out that the non-public Richard Castle was actually a fun guy. I have to thank the Mayor for that," at that moment, a baritone rang out, "You better judge" and everyone laughed.

"My first poker game with the 'Gotham City crew' was very enjoyable. The games were great, the food and drink plentiful and the conversation enjoyable and stimulating. Later on I learned that the Mayor invited me so he would not loose so much since Castle always seemed to be the big winner. It was at one of these games I got to know Detective Beckett.

"She was known to me before as she had submitted numerous warrants for my signature when I moved to criminal division. My law clerk was familiar with the Detective's work which was always through. He told me to read through it quickly and everything would be in order. I was busy that first time and essentially took 10 seconds to read the request and was about to sign it when Detective Beckett said, 'Aren't you going to read it carefully?' I was angry and was going to teach the detective a lesson. I took my time and told her to come back the next day. I did read it and found it to be everything my clerk said it was. When Detective Beckett came back the next day I asked her why she challenged me. She said, 'This way I know that you will be careful with my requests and if there is anything wrong, you will let me know so I can fix it. Once it is correct, one less loop hole for the bad guy to slip through.' I was impressed."

Castle had never heard this particular aspect of Beckett's work before. He knew he she was fastidious, probably got that from her mother. Still, every time his finance earned praise, he could not have been prouder.

"The first time I really got to really observe these two together was at one of our poker games. In a room full of men, in fact Kate's boss and the mayor were there, she held up her end of the game and conversation very well. It was fun to have her there as a foil to Rick. Both he and she were extremely competitive, especially with one and other. They teased one another in a that only mutual respect can engender. Once or twice during the evening, Castle was distracted by their back and forth and lost the hand. The Mayor, Captain Montgomery and I were very happy to see Castle taken down. The last hand saw that last two players as Castle and Beckett. When the bet came to Kate, I could see her mind going into all different directions. When she finally folded her hand, I saw a very faint smile come across her face. Then when Castle gleefully took his winning, the twinkle in her eyes told me she could have won the pot, but did this for him. Right there I knew these two would be in it for the long haul."

At this point, Markaway took off the table a folder and made a show of looking at the papers. "All is now finally in order Ms Beckett and Mr. Castle. Do either of you have anything you wish to say to the other or us before we conclude these proceedings?"

Castle knew Kate was nervous about saying her vows in front of the gathering. She was nervous on two counts, ONE, she was very shy in front of a big group. This was made doubly hard because she did not bring with her, her vows. Even though she wrote them down, Kate wanted it to come from her heart so she did her best to memorize them and would recite them. TWO, she was afraid her words would look inadequate in front of Castle's vows. He did his best to assure her that whatever she said, he would love it, just as long as she said "I do."

Kate began, "Marriage is a vow between two hearts. Please accept this ring as a tangible sign and visible reminder of the vows my heart makes to you: I will give you the full measure of my devotion, to trust you, be with you in sickness and health, to continue to figure things out with you when things get difficult and to keep you on your toes with laughter, fun and romance. 'Волим Те, Je t'aime, Ti amo'. In any language, 'I love you' Richard Edgar Alexander Rodgers Castle, Always." When she finished, there was not a sound.

Rick was stunned by the simple grace and beauty of Kate's vows. If this was any indication of how Kate could fulfill her vows, he knew their life together would never be boring. He began, "My dearest, Marriage is also a vow between souls. I give you this ring as a tangible sign and visible reminder of the vows I now make to you from the sacred depths of my soul: to continue to be the 'nine year old on a sugar rush' at appropriate times of course, to protect you, trust you, be with you in sickness and health, to continue to figure things out with you when things get difficult and to love you, Always." When he finished, Castle saw a flutter of white as a great many of their guests took out tissues or hankershiffs to wipe their eyes.

Judge Markaway looked confused, he then just shrugged his shoulders, smiled and said, "These two are really anxious to be married. Well then, do you Katherine H. Beckett of your own free will, take Richard EAR Castle to be your lawfully wedded husband and be mindful to keep all your vows made to him here today?"

"I do!"

"Do you Richard EAR Castle of your own free will, take Katherine H. Beckett to be your lawfully wedded wife and be mindful to keep all your vows made to her here today?"

"I most certainly do!"

"Then by the power vested in me by the State of New York and sanctioned by the Gotham Crew Poker group, I order that from now on you will hence forth be known as husband and wife. You..." Castle pulled Beckett (Castle?) firmly to him and kissed her. She held him tight and he kissed her proudly and passionately.

**End Note: Next chapter will be up in a day or two so you all can take this one in and let me know what you think. Rest assured, the story will be finished and fully posted before season 7. Thanks to everybody who takes the time to write reviews. Remember any spelling or grammar errors are unintentional. I love them. Remember 'Reviews feed the Muse.' Keep them coming, good, bad or indifferent. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Note: I may have taken some wedding procedure out of order, but I think it fit my story better. Besides, when has Caskett done anything conventional. **

The Castle characters are not mine. Their use, or the use of, or resemblance of any other characters, to any persons, living or dead, and the words and opinions they may speak are my creations just for the story and should not be attributed to them.

_Castle unconsciously found himself moving his body, twisting to get into a better position to kiss, to feel the passion of the moment. His body ached and he reluctantly woke up. These were all pleasant dreams, but where was Beckett, his wife, now? Not here yet, oh well, he would go to her in his thoughts till she returned in person..._

Kate and Rick started down the aisle, hand in hand. Suddenly both stopped. Near the house somewhere, they heard the music coming from a cd player. Neither could place it till they heard the unmistakable sound of Kate's favorite member of the Rat pack singing Witchcraft. The breath in her throat caught for a minute as she could not believe Castle remembered. She jumped up and Castle grabbed her in a great big bear hug, twirling her around and around. Kate whispered in Castle's ear, "Our fairy tale cannot get any better."

Rick whispered back, "Oh yes it can, just wait." While twirling around an ecstatic Kate, Rick locked eyes with his daughter. Tears started to flow as he mouthed, "Thank you." and she replied, "Your welcome." Later on he would have to find out how she knew.

Finally Rick and Kate were back in the upstairs sitting area. They shut the door and promptly plotzed on the couch. Both needed a little while to get their emotions under control and prepare for the festivities to come. After they caught their breath, Castle turned to his wife with a troublesome look.

"What is that for?" Beckett asked.

"I do not know what you want to be called now. You are my wife and I your husband. Boy that feels good saying that, but now how do I address you. Beckett seems right, but does not quite fit. I know you are Kate but we rarely use our first names with each other and other then my mother and your father, not one of our close friends and family call us by our first names."

"I really had not thought of it," Beckett (Castle?) says. Castle sees her think for a moment and continues, "I meant it when I said I give my full measure of devotion to you and that includes taking your name. Call me 'Mrs. Katherine Castle."

He felt honored. For his wife to take his name was a huge measure of respect and love for him. Beckett was the name she had for 35 years. Beckett was the name people had come to know and respect. Beckett was the name of her father and mother. If she took his name, then this particular Beckett line could die out as there were no other children to carry it on. For his part, Castle did not really care about names that much, at least his own. He had changed it to fit his mood and who know if he might not change it again in the future. Alexis would probably take her spouses name, so unless he had other children (other children with Beckett, that sounded like fun), the Castle name may die out. That did not seem to bother him though.

"Kate, I am honored and flattered that you want to take the name Castle. However, that name does not mean as much to me as the Beckett name does. Not only to me but probably to your father too. I met you as Beckett, fell in love with you as Beckett and married you as Beckett. Besides the whole world knows we are together so what's in a name."

A mischievous glint shown in Kate's eyes, "Well why don't you take the name Beckett?"

Castle hope he read the signal right. "That is a thought, but you may have to do more to convince me."

"I bet I can." she said as she smiled. Kate grabbed Castle's hand and started to pull him into the bedroom when there was a knock and a shout at the door. "Worse timing ever." both said in unison.

The door opened and in came Alexis, Martha, Jim Beckett, Lanie and Javier. They brought up some food and drink. "Dad, Kate..." Alexis caught herself, "oh, I am very sorry Detective Beckett.."

Kate walked over to Alexis and pulled her in for a tight hug. "Please Alexis call me Kate, the name rarely gets used." she winked at Castle. "Even my father does not use it. She looked at him and winked too. "Oh, and thank you for all you did for your father and me. There is no professional wedding planner that could have done a better job. And certainly no one who put all these personal touches on it that make it special to me and your Dad."

"Thank you. That means a lot. Kate, Dad the photographer is setting up and will be about 20 minutes. We brought you some food and drink because I am sure you will have little time to get some once we go downstairs." Alexis went over to help set up the food.

Meanwhile, Carly and Maddie came up to the bedroom suite. Kate met them in the middle and all hugged and giggled. Castle was watching this. He could feel the images burn in his brain. It felt good. In a short time, Carly and Maddie left to be with their spouse/boyfriend. Ryan and Jenny came up stairs. Castle thought it was an appropriate time now for a toast. His nuclear family was here and he wanted them to know he loved them all.

Looking around, Castle saw only one bottle of champagne. He asked Alexis why only one bottle. The rest of the drinks were water, juice, some seltzer and sodas. "I want you all to look good for the pictures. With this group a little drink and they will all get silly. Besides, Kate's Dad cannot drink."

"Right, right. Ok then." Castle cleared his throat. Everyone turned around and faced him. He pulled Kate to him held her hand. "While my gorgeous wife and I have our most treasured family and friends around us, I would just like to say..."

Jim Beckett piped in, "Wait a minute Rick. This sounds like a toast. I will get us all a drink." Everyone there knew of Jim Beckett's alcoholism and were stunned into inaction at his words. Kate was about to move when she saw him reach for the champagne. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his Katie move toward him. "Don't worry Katie, given what I have to look forward to now with our extended family, which I might add, I hope will continue to grow..." He looked at Rick and Kate and winked. They both gave him mock look of surprise and disgust, then smiled broadly. "...nothing, nothing will tempt me back to those horrible days. That does not mean the rest of you cannot join me with a bit of the bubbly." Then Jim poured himself a glass of seltzer and for the rest, champagne.

Castle raised his glass, "As much to you all as to ourselves, my beloved and I owe our happiness on this day. If it were not for your constant nudging, pushing, cajoling, teasing and great words of wisdom..." at that Castle looked at his mother, Alexis and Jim. He caught Beckett looking at Lanie, and her father. "... we may never have seen what was right before our eyes before it was to late. Whether blood or not, this group is our family forged together through trial and error, good times and bad."

"We love you all!" Rick and Kate said together. Their family just shook their heads as they were used to such shows of oneness. Together they said, "We love you too." and all drank.

Alexis took a text message from the photographer. He asked that Kate, her Bride's maids, Maid of Honor and her father come down for pictures. Alexis gathered the group and told her father she would text him soon for his pictures. Rick could see the group from the window in the suite. Kate looked up and stuck her tongue out at him, then flashed him the biggest smile he ever saw. She reminded him of a date for senior prom. He could not have been happier. Esposito and Ryan moved to the corner in and began to talk in what seemed to Castle like conspiratorial tones. No matter, he was overwhelmed with the day so far and needed a minute or two alone.

He moved to the other side of the suite and looked out over their property. He liked the sound of that, 'their property.' Unbeknownst to Beckett, he had her name put on the Hampton House and the loft. Alexis was well provided for in a trust that he had set up for her and had varying percentages of his royalties added to it from each book. Part of it was being used to pay for her tuition and other educational needs. The way the money was invested, there would be plenty for all graduate education Alexis wanted and enough to give her a comfortable income afterward for awhile, even if she did not work at all. Castle had also set up a trust for Martha, which supplemented her income from the acting school. If need be, she also could live comfortably even if the school closed.

When he found the airline ticket in Beckett's pocket, he could see no way to salvage the relationship. He saw her failure to tell him about DC worse then her not telling him she heard his declaration of love that horrible day at Montgomery's funeral. His mother, the flamboyant busybody, focused him and his feelings about Beckett. After discussing Beckett and the DC interview. "Richard, I know you and you do not hold back, except this thing with Katherine... It took you 3 years to tell her how you feel, another year to act on it and now at the first sign of trouble you are running away, You are both having fun, but with no real commitment to each other. Why? Could it be the reason you are holding back is because somewhere, deep down inside you don't think this will really work?"

Putting the houses in both their names was more then just providing for Beckett. It was an act of faith. Faith in them both that the relationship would last forever. He really did love his mother.

As he was thinking about this, he saw the helicopter again. It did not hover, just flew by. Castle could not tell if it were the same one or not, but he ask Chief Brady about it later. If any pictures of this wedding ended up in any form of media without his and Kate's consent, he would keep his lawyers busy for awhile going after them. He then heard Espo call, "Yo bro, mug shot time."

"Why didn't Alexis text me?"

"She did, twice, but no answer."

"My bad, let's go."

**End Note: I did not forget about the name question. It will be resolved in the next chapters. If you have thoughts about same, let me know before I post same. Thanks to everybody who takes the time to write reviews. I love them. Remember 'Reviews feed the Muse.' Keep them coming, good, bad or indifferent. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Note: Herein the name issue has been resolved . As you may have already noted, I like to incorporate cannon in my Castle universe as much as I can. Part of that for me is to create back story for some things and sequels to others. I am sure you will pick up in here where I have done so. **

**The Castle characters are not mine. Their use, or the use of, or resemblance of any other characters, to any persons, living or dead, and the words and opinions they may speak are my creations just for the story. **

Outside Castle noticed a karaoke machine inside a tent. He heard the sounds of music and laughter coming from it. "What is that?," he asked out loud.

"Yo bro, a karaoke machine. You know to sing along..."

"I do not know how to investigate live mysteries, only dead ones." Esposito smiled. Castle gave him a look, "Ask Alexis." was his response.

He did ask when he met Alexis outside. "It was something I saw at a wedding I was at. The guests made video tapes to the music. They were supposed to come up with a song and changes the words to talk about the couple. A few did, but most just sang a song and taped congratulations to the Bride and Groom. Two copies were made, one for the couple and one for the guest(s). Some were played during dinner and afterward. It was very moving and funny at the same time."

"Outstanding!" was Castle's reply.

The photographer was finishing up with the Bride, her father and the bridesmaids. He was the same one that Beckett and Castle met during their case at Modern Fashion Magazine. In a feat worthy of his skills at Scrabble, Castle put together a deal which made potential public relations disasters, into triumphs and in the process had money donated to two of his and Beckett's charities, i.e. The Johanna Beckett/Roy Montgomery Scholarship Fund and the Police Benevolent Society.

Beckett would have put up with inviting Paula and Gina to the wedding, but he would have none of that. It would have been very awkward with them there, because they wanted to bring photographers of their own. Good publicity for his books. But he could not invite Gina without Meredith, and he certainly did not want Meredith. Then Beckett asked Castle if some of the pictures of her in the wedding dress could be given to Modern Fashion as a thank you to Matilda King for the dress. Now with three puzzle pieces seemingly disconnect, Castle's imagination went to work. What if they allowed more then just pictures of Kate in her wedding dress. Contingent on obtaining the wedding party's permission, they could give plenty of pictures of the wedding to Modern Fashion. Some of the captions would mention him as one of Black Pawn's leading authors. Although not quite a Newsweek or Time Magazine, Modern Fashion had a wide circulation and would give enough publicity to satisfy Paula and Gina. Plus they could attend the wedding vicariously.

When Castle and Beckett told Matilda King this, she was thrilled. She would finally have Kate Beckett, model for her. She did not mind having to pay minium wage modeling fees to the wedding party, (which were then donated to the charities). In order to have the best spread in her magazine, she had her best photographer, the one Castle and Beckett met on the magazine murder case, take all the pictures and have the magazine pay for his service at the wedding. Castle thought all King would withdraw the photographer when she found out wedding dress she gave Beckett was ruined. Matilda King might have been a little disappointed, but she said that having Beckett model for her was her prime objective, she could 'Never forget those cheek bones.' King even offered to send another dress but was told that they had one already. Castle knew that King would not be disappointed when she saw the pictures of his wife in her white dress, standing on the green grass with the blue ocean and sky as a backdrop. He could hardly breathe when he saw Kate there finishing up her solo pictures.

As soon as she was finished, Kate ran over to Castle, grabbed his head, ran her fingers through his hair and kissed him. "Hey my husband." she said when they finally broke apart. "Are you ready for your close up."

"Not now since you mussed up my hair" Castle replied with a grin.

"Too bad, one of my new privileges as your wife is to mess up your hair whenever I want to." Beckett said, then said, "and another one of my new privileges is to fix and style it anyway I want," as she started to fix his hair with her hands and a comb Lanie found and brought over to her.

"Another layer to the Beckett onion. Well this will save on haircuts." Both laughed.

Lanie came over bringing Javier with her. "Girlfriend, we can take 5. The photographer wants just the boys, Alexis, and Martha for a few minutes alone. Then we will all get together for group photographs. The photography phase should be about another 45 minutes." Beckett again gave Castle a big kiss and headed upstairs with Lanie.

Castle stood in the same spot Kate had. After the first few pictures with his mother and Alexis, he lost his concentration. He saw his wife standing in the window and could not take his eyes off of her. "The sooner we finish this, the sooner she will be standing by your side, his mother said." The rest of the time Castle obeyed every command the photographer gave.

There were pictures of the Groom's party, pictures of Castle and Martha, Castle and Alexis, Castle and Jim Beckett. More pictures of Alexis and the boys, the boys and Jim Beckett, the boys and Martha. None were forgotten. The photographer was so pleased with shots that he used up all the film he had at that spot. "Mr. Castle, you and your group can take 5, I have to go to my car and get more film." With that, Castle was off to get his wife.

Kate giggled when she saw Castle. "I still feel like I am in dream."

"No, you are not dreaming, you are my wife, I your husband now and forever. One of my new privileges is to you to myself whenever we need to be. Lanie, I love you but I need a little bit more alone time with my wife. Once we finish the pictures I will not have this time with her till after the wedding."

Lanie gives a sharp look at Castle. "OK writer-boy, ..."

"Writer-man" Beckett and Castle shout in unison.

"you too are so cute when you do that. Do not go mussing up my girls hair or dress. Even though I cut up dead people, I know how to work on live ones too. I will go find Javi and have a little alone time with him, if you know what I mean." Lanie starts to giggle as she walks away mumbling, "I cut myself up sometimes."

When she is gone, the newlywed couple turns to each other, "Well Mr. Castle."

"Well Mrs. Castle, or should I say Ms. Beckett, or ... What should I say? We never finished our little discussion."

"I spoke to my father about it. He told me that he could not be prouder of me or you and whatever we call ourselves is our decision and we should not take anyone else's thoughts or feelings into account. Still, I do not want to loose the Beckett name. Would you be disappointed if I kept Beckett at work? I mean it could be confusing to all concerned there especially when you are there too. I mean they could call you all those cute nicknames you like, like 'Kitten' or 'Writer-boy' or 'Ricky'."

Castle pulled his wife into him in a bear hug, "Hey, I saved your life more then you saved mine so you know what I want, don't ever call me kitten!" With that they both started laughing. Kate finally kissed him hard then moved back.

"Seriously, what are we going to do?"

"Why don't I take the name Beckett. Yeah, then I could use another nom-de-plum, reinvent myself and become famous all over again."

Kate looked at him with all the love she could muster. "Ok sport, I do not think adding another name to your list will work. We cannot fit all the names as it is on any legal forms."

"Ok, fine." Castle looked a little disappointed. "We will just keep our names the way they are."

"No, no. I want the world to know who the love of my life is. I will use Kate Castle everywhere but work, that way there will be no mistake that I belong with you and you belong with me."

"Ok, that works for me. Still does not take care of the Beckett legacy though. What do we do about names for our 3 children." Castle smiled as Beckett rolled her eyes.

"However many children we have," Kate said forcefully, " will have a middle name of Beckett and a last name of Castle. No hyphens, just names. Deal?"

"You drive a hard bargain Mrs. Castle, deal."

A few moments later, Alexis texted her father to come down and finish the photographs. This they did. Many of the guests had gathered near the photography area. When Martha saw them coming down, hand in hand, she grabbed the mike from the band leader. "Here they are for the first time in public, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Castle." Everyone applauded loudly. Rick glared at his mother for this, nothing like this had been discussed and he thought Kate would be furious, especially after what they discussed upstairs. When he turned to Kate to start to apologize, tears were beginning to form. "I'm so sorry Kate.."

"What for, I love it! I am Mrs. Richard Castle and would not have it any other way." At least for today that is what she wanted and he could not have been more thrilled.

**End Note: Thanks to everybody who takes the time to write reviews. I love them. Remember 'Reviews feed the Muse.' Keep them coming, good, bad or indifferent. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Note: See if you can guess which movie and scene I took inspiration from to have Martha solve the crowd dilemma. If you correctly guess the move and seen, you will also know who the performer is that will make a cameo later in this story. Answers to come in one of the following chapters. **

**The Castle characters are not mine. Their use, or the use of, or resemblance of any other characters, to any persons, living or dead, and the words and opinions they may speak are my creations just for the story and should not be attributed to them. **

The crowd gave way and moved back a respectful distance so the newlyweds could get to their spot. They did not dissipate though. There were calls from everyone, "Look this way Kate, Here Rick." Castle felt like he and Beckett were on at a Red Carpet at a premiere.

"Get used to this love. Most of my book openings are like this. There is nobody on want to join me on the carpet more then you. Especially if you wear that red number from 5 years ago, or the Herve Ledger Blue dress from the Heat Wave launch."

Beckett bit her lip, "How do you know I can still fit into those dresses?"

Castle stopped her for a moment, turned her around and looked at her. Up and down his eyes roamed her magnificent figure. "Well, maybe you could lose a pound or two." Beckett poked him hard. She was about to do it again, when Castle pulled her toward him and smiled. "Just kidding my love. You look better everyday. Forgive me?"

Beckett gave him a look. "It will cost you buddy." He kissed her. "Not enough." He kissed her again. "Getting there, if you can convince Martha to lend me her gorgeous necklace from time to time, I could forgive you."

"And the student becomes the master."

It was hard to concentrate or hear the photographer when all the guests were shouting and taking pictures. Maddie had the band leader make an announcement that hors d'oeuvres were being served. Some guests moved, but most still were flashing pictures of the couple and the bridal party. Beckett and Castle were too caught up in the moment to care of worry, but Martha knew that something had to be done. Later on Castle learned that, Beckett had asked for Martha's help to plan a surprise for him. Beckett was going to have a certain performer, perform for the guests and she was going to be part of the act. The name of the performer would create a buzz if disseminated to the guests before their arrival. Martha thought it would ruin the surprise, but she needed to disperse the rest of the guest in a diplomatic way. She spread the rumor, that the performer was already there and the rest of the crowd left.

The rest of the picture taking went quickly. Castle and Beckett were always at the center with family and friends surrounding them in various ways and orders. A number of pictures were taken with Castle and Beckett alone and these were the hardest to get through because one or the other of them was always stealing a kiss or joking around. Later on Jim told Rick and Martha told Kate that they had never, ever seen their child having so much fun. Each was grateful to their respective daughter-in-law and son-in-law how much security and happiness they brought to their child.

With the formal pictures finally finished (there would be plenty of candids taken including much video) Castle and Beckett ventured into the crowd. There was a dizzing array of handshaking and congratulations. At first Castle and Beckett were together but were soon separated by the crowd. A few times, Castle caught Beckett's eyes, she pleading with him to come get her. He started off each time but was waylaid by someone wanting to give them their best, or wanting him to meet someone else. Even though the guest number was relatively small, Castle's good friends and family were even smaller. Many guests were acquaintances of someone or other. He may have recognized the name, but knew very little else. Castle did his best to make all feel welcome and at ease but he was not sure it was working. Frankly, he just wanted to find Kate, dance with her a bit, have some Chinese food, or a burger and shake from Remeys and be on their way for the honeymoon.

The crowd sort of moved him around to one of the hors d'oeuvres tables. There was not much left so no one was hanging around. Castle was hungry and about to go the kitchen when he saw his wife. "I saved as much as I could for us," she said. There was a wonderfully odd mixture of shrimps, spring rolls, some fried rice, oysters and clams. Even though there was not much to begin with and sharing with Beckett made the portions even smaller, Castle was well satisfied. Though they had shared plates many times, this was the first of thousands he would share with his wife. Every thing tasted sweeter.

After finishing the plate, each heard the other say, "I could use a drink." Though this happened hundreds of times over the years, they still smiled at each other each time. Then they saw Alexis approach with a small tray with three wine glasses. As she was walking toward them Alexis said, "I thought you both could use a drink."

"Spooky" said Castle.

"Yeah Spooky," said Beckett.

Alexis, being old enough to drink now held up her glass to them. "Just wanted to give you both a summary of my best 'man' speech. Pure and simple. I love you both very much." Each took a sip of wine and then Castle held them both in a big mushy bear hug.

After a minute, Alexis said, "Once more into the breach my friends," and they all went back into the crowd for round two of schmooze.

Beckett and Castle stuck together this time. This was important because they had purposely missed some guests that they thought needed to be handled together. One was Beckett's Aunt Teresa. She did talk to her and, as she later told Castle, and made it clear how much she loved him. As soon as the couple made their appearance Teresa, found them. "Mr. Castle, I am Katie's Aunt Teresa. I am sure she has told you a lot about me."

"Yes she has, so nice to meet you finally. your Facebook profile does not do you justice"

"Well, I have heard a lot of things about you too. I checked out your fan website. You have quite a following Mr. Castle. Also read your Nikki Heat books. Quite good actually, especially the love scenes. Heard you based Nikki Heat on my Katie, right?"

Small beads of sweat were starting to form on Castle's brow. It was not that hot outside.

"Well, although my books are based on realty, lots of things in them are just pure fantasies... not my personal fantasies just out of my imagination, not that I imagine that ll the time... I am not doing a very good job of explaining this..." Castle gulped.

"Oh, I think you are doing just fine Rick." Aunt Teresa replied. Then she started to laugh.

Beckett and Castle let out a sigh of relief. "You too kind. Now I know where Kate gets her interrogation technique."

"Katie loves you more then anyone, except maybe me and her father. She tells me you are a good father yourself and she feels more comfortable, more relaxed and safest when you are around. I approve." Then she leaned to Castle and whispered, " and if you ever hurt her, you will have more then Facebook to worry about."

Beckett heard her answers words and squeezed his hand, hoping he would take that has a sign of support and not see that how hard she was suppressing a grin. Then they heard the calvary come. "Terry, leave those two alone. You can talk to them later. Come, I want you to meet some of my law firm colleagues. You can tell them stories of Johanna and I in law school." Aunt Teresa turned and walked toward Jim Beckett. As he turned to follow Teresa, he turned back and winked at the newlyweds. Both mouthed, "Thank you" to him. He smiled and then was out of sight.

Just when Castle and Beckett caught their breath, they heard "Detective Beckett, Mr. Castle..." Captain Gates and her husband were approaching.

In a low voice only for Castle to hear, Beckett said "Out of the frying pan..."

"... and into the fire" Castle finished.

"Congratulations you too. I know you have heard me talk about him," Captain Gates stared at Castle when she said this, " but here he is the flesh, my husband William."

"Pleasure to meet you both. Vicki has to me lot about you both. You can call me Bill."

"Bill?" the newlyweds said in unison.

"I know, but I am older so he was named after me. I am still waiting for a royalty check." Bill Gates laughed even though his wife gave him an annoyed look, like she heard all this before.

"Pleasure to meet you Bill," Castle said as he shook Mr. Gates hand.

"So glad you could be here with us." Beckett said has she hugged Bill Gates.

"Detective, come with me for a moment. I need to tell you something. Let the men talk."

"Uh?, ok sir" Beckett moved off with Victoria Gates, but not before she gave Castle a puzzled look.

"Don't worry, I can guess what their talking about." Bill Gates started. "At work my Vikki wants to be very professional. She thinks she has to, to keep respect. Maybe so, but she is a very caring person. You should know, Mr. Castle, that she has read all your Nikki Heat books and loves each one. One of her prized possessions is the one you signed to her."

"Please sir, call me Rick or Castle and thank you. That is very flattering."

"Ok, Castle, it is. I know a little about cop lore. Still, when Vicki is around, I will call you Mr. Castle or she will make me do KP for weeks." Both men smiled. Bill continued. " I think she is asking your wife, what she wants to be called from now on, I mean Beckett or Castle. In addition, she is probably telling her that as much fun she has teasing you at the precinct, she is glad you are there. She feels that your unique view on things and the craziness you bring to the officers allows them to solve more cases then any other precinct in the city. You know it is an extremely tough job and you make it more fun for everyone. It allows them to relax and think more clearly. Also she says that she has never seen a group more closely knit, more loyal to each then Beckett, Ryan, Esposito and you."

"Well thank you. Kate is now my family, but I considered Ryan, Espositio and Lanie no less so. Even your wife is family, but more like my new crazy Aunt Teresa." Both men laughed long and hard till they heard Gates and Beckett coming back.

"What has been going on here?"

Bill gave Castle a little bump on the shoulder, "Nothing dear, just telling Mr. Castle here how much we appreciate him and Detective Beckett allowing us to share their special day. Mr. Castle said, if you would like, he would sign the other Nikki Heat books you have."

"BILL!" Gates started to shout.

"Yes Captain, I would be honored." Castle jumped in.

"Well thank you Mr. Castle. I will bring them into the precinct when you and Beckett return from your honeymoon. Let's go Bill, I think we have taken enough of the couples time for now." and off the Gates went.

Beckett and Castle looked at each for a bit. "Well what did Bill/the Captain say to you?"

They asked in unison. Beckett started first, "Gates wanted to know what I wanted to be called. If I were to change my name, she would start the paperwork and have it ready when I got back. I told her that while on the force, I would remain, Beckett, but to the rest of the world, I was Castle."

"... and what else?" Castle asked.

"Castle, How do you know there is something else? Even if there is, and I not saying, I would not tell you because I do not want traffic duty."

"Ok, I understand. Oh and by the way, Bill told me that you have a little competition for my no. 1 fan. The Captain loves my books."

Beckett gave him a look, "I like competition, but let me remind you that you have no idea what would befall you if you forget who your true No. 1 fan is, understand?"

"Apples, apples..."

**End Note: Thanks to everybody who takes the time to write reviews. I love them. Remember 'Reviews feed the Muse.' Keep them coming, good, bad or indifferent. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Note: I used google translate again to use the languages Stana Katic speaks. I know Hebrew is not one, but I include that for the spirit of the toast. I do acknowledge the that the other translations I chose may not accurately reflect the spirit, but I tried.**

**This chapter is a little longer then most. I got carried away with the Jim Beckett toast. Still have others to do so be prepared. Other fanfic authors have a superb job with the toast. This is my entry into that ring. **

**The Castle characters are not mine. Their use, or the use of, or resemblance of any other characters, to any persons, living or dead, and the words and opinions they may speak are my creations just for the story. **

The newlyweds were just meandering, taking in the scene and each other. People waived and shouted hello, between drinks and conversation. The music alternated from band to DJ, each playing a few sets to spell the other. The band tended to play newer tunes, the DJ older ones.

"My love, I could use a drink, what can I get you?" Castle asked.

"I sure could use a Vodka." Beckett answered. With that request, Castle was thinking he tonight he might get to see his wife in her tight leather motorcycle pants but then she said, "I want to be in control of all my faculties this day to remember everything, so just ice water?"

Castle moved to get toward one of the bars muttering, "Tight pants, respect and obey in vows, tight pants, oooo" At the bar, Castle had an inspired idea. A win, win. He ordered a vodka and ice water. When the bartender went behind the curtain, Castle thought he glimpsed another waiter who looked very familiar. The curtain closed too fast for Castle to confirm the man's identity. Oh well, back to Beckett. He offers her both choices, show's he is a good listener and thoughtful husband. Something to clam her and something to satisfy her thirst and keep her alert.

"You brought me both!" Beckett said with raised voice. Castle thought he detected some annoyance in it.

"I, uh, just thought..." he stammered.

"That is so sweet." Beckett smiled. She took a big gulp of the water and asked Castle to hold onto the vodka. "Maybe I will have the vodka later, although you did not need it to get me to try on my leather motorcycle pants later. They are in a small, separate suitcase that I call my 'Kinky box.'" Castle took a big gulp of the vodka.

"Kate, Dad," they both turned and saw Alexis walking toward them. "Time to make your formal entrance." Just then they heard the band leader tell everyone that the first course was being served and to take their seats.

"Where are the boys, Lanie, Mr. Beckett and Grams?" Castle asked. "and come to think of it, where were you this whole pre-dinner time?" as he turned toward Alexis.

"Everyone is seating at the table, come on you two, get to your positions and get ready to dance." Alexis answered running off to the table.

"This is not finished," Castle yelled after her. Then turning to Kate, "shall we dance, Mrs. Castle?" Kate gave him her hand and followed him to the dance floor.

"Announcing... for the second time today, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Castle." Kate and Rick came out to a standing ovation. They applauded and mouthed thank you to all their guests. Mr. Castle took Mrs. Castle's hand and started to dance when Andrew Belle's 'In My Veins' played.

"Mr. Castle?"

"Yes Mrs. Castle."

"If this is a dream, I don't ever want to wake up."

"Neither do I." _Now, here, is it real or a dream?_

Beckett and Castle were so busy getting her divorced, that they had not been able to pick out some other songs for the father/daughter, mother/son dances etc. As they were dancing across the floor Castle saw Beckett look at the empty chair at their table, representing her mother. At the end of the song, she looked at him with excitement. "Castle, stay here a minute, I have an idea for a song to dance with our parents."

With that, she ran up to the band leader and whispered something in his ear. He nodded and motioned to the female singer of the group to come over. In another minute, everything was agreed upon and Kate came back to Rick.

"The Bride has requested a very special song for her and her father, her groom and his mother to dance to, Celine Dion's 'Because you love me.' Will Mr. James Beckett, father of the bride and Ms. Martha Rodgers, mother of the groom come out to dance with their children?"

Another standing ovation was given to the parents as they made their way to their children. "How did you come up with this song?" Castle asked Beckett.

"I looked at my mother's chair, I looked at my father and then you. I thought, 'Why have these people given me so much and asked for nothing in return?' Then it hit me, because they love me. What could be more appropriate?" Beckett answered.

"I married a genius." was all Castle could say before Jim Beckett came over to him and gave him a hug, while Martha gave Kate one. Then each parent went to their child and began to dance. While this was going on, waiters started to serve the first course and the photographer and videographer were taking pictures.

In the middle of the song, the band leader invited all the lovers to the dance floor. Immediately half the room got up and moved to the floor. Alexis stood to the side and watched. Castle saw her and could not make out what she was feeling. Martha saw this and motioned for Alexis to come over and dance with her father. When she got to them through the mass of dancers, Martha said, "You two dance. I am going to get some more of the Bubbly. They are serving the good stuff this time." and with that she left.

Father and Daughter hugged and hugged. They did not formally dance, she held each other and swayed to the music. Castle caught Beckett looking in their direction. Beckett smiled and went back to dancing with her father. "Alexis, I would not be here today or so happy without you. I know that from day one, you had mixed feelings about Kate and at any time you told me, I would have quit her cold turkey. I think she picked this song for us too, because I know that you accepted her because she makes me very happy and 'because you love me.'

Alexis started to cry. "Dad, I love her too." Castle started to cry and they both started to move away from floor.

Esposito saw this and asked Castle, "Where are you and the Best 'Man' going?"

"To get tissues." and they disappeared from the dance floor

When Castle and Alexis got back to the table, everyone, except Martha, was seated with the pasta in front of them, waiting to for Castle to arrive. "Castle, Alexis, is everything alright?" Kate asked.

"Allergies," they answered in unison. The whole table looked at them and laughed.

The first courses were served family style. Large dishes of the food were put on the table and then passed around. In deference of the newlyweds love of Chinese food, chop sticks were put near each place setting along with traditional silverware. Each item was specially crafted so it could be eaten with either group of utensils. There was pasta, dumplings, antipasta, small pieces of chicken and meat. Vegetable pieces. Soup was also served, a cold gaspacho and hot consume.

While these dishes were served, Castle and Beckett made their rounds to each table, schmoozing and taking pictures with their guests. At some point in this whirlwind, Castle heard the clinking of glass. He took his bride and kissed her fully. Then he heard Jim Beckett on the microphone. "That was not exactly why I was tapping my glass, but I guess it's alright for him to kiss my daughter at this point." Castle and Beckett turned a bright red, which quickly subsided and, luckily, was not caught on the video.

On the porch and around the dining and dancing area, 4 large screens were placed. At this point, Jim Beckett was on screen along with Martha Rodgers. He continued, "I guess it is customary for the parents to speak at their children's wedding. Martha may have a little bit more practice at this then I," again laughter from the guests, "sorry Rick, just had to mention it. If so, then Martha and I figured we would get it out of the way early so all you 'young people' can enjoy the rest of the evening."

"Whether or not Rick remembers this, I actually met him way before Katie or my wife, Johanna did. I knew of him because the women in my life were such big fans. They tried to get me to read his books, but I was not a big fan of the genre at the time. I was at his lawyer's office on another matter when he came in and sat beside me. I recognized him from his pictures. We chatted for a minute or two and then I was called to my meeting. I did not tell my Katie or my wife because they would have given me such grief since I did not get his autograph."

Katie laughed, "Dad," she called out, "I would have been alright, but Mom would have found some creative ways to punish you."

"That she would have. In any event, Rick seemed like a nice person. I really never thought much more about it. Even after Johanna and Katie stood for hours on line to get Rick's autograph, I did not think much about it. One time, I do remember Katie and Johanna having a discussion about Rick. There was an article on page 6 about him and his wild life, womanizing etc. Katie said she could never be with a person like that, but my wife, defended you." Jim Beckett had to stop a minute and catch his breath.

He continued, "Johanna argued that the way people act in public is sometimes the polar opposite from the way they are in real life. She said that at the book signing, she saw a little redheaded girl sitting with a book and a red headed woman, who was either her mother or grandmother sitting next to her reading the book. Between every person, Rick would look over and smile at the women. The little girl smiled back or giggled and Rick had to take a moment before he continued. Johanna said, 'Even though there is no official word, I bet that little girl is Castle's daughter and he wants to keep her out of the limelight as much as possible so she can lead a normal life. That is a good man Katie. No matter what else you read about him. Besides he is ruggedly handsome.' "

Jim and Martha both looked over to Rick and Alexis. They had some napkins to their face again. Again, in unison, they said, "Allergies."

"When Johanna died, I took to the bottle. That was the biggest mistake of my life. I am so thankful that Johanna got Katie hooked on Rick's books. They played such a large part in helping her get through those tough times that even if I never met you, Rick, I would always be grateful.

"Later on I was thankful, apprehensive and curious when Katie told me that you were going to 'observing' her for research. My apprehension was more for you then Katie. I knew she could take care of herself. As a father of a teenage daughter, I think you can relate to this. Almost from the first time Katie began talking about you, I knew you were special to her. Before she met you, she talked about her day or even her boyfriends in short sentences and clipped tones. Not one to share much information about either. I met a few of her boyfriends. Now that I think of it, I met them when she was mad at me. Usually they were off the beaten path and Katie usually broke up with them soon after."

Castle looked at Alexis and called out, "I recently experienced that first hand Jim." Both Alexis and Beckett poked him hard. "What, I thought Pi was ok. No?"

It looked like Alexis and Kate were about to pick up a knife and skewer Castle, so Jim hastily continued. "You were different Rick. Whenever I talked to Katie, she had loads to tell me about you, what you did, how you annoyed her, how, later on, you made her laugh. How you were raising a fantastic young daughter. On and on. Even when Katie had a 'boyfriend' they never got as much press as you did. I did get to know you a little though your loosely based, alter-ego, Jameson Rook. I really do like the Nikki Heat Books but the cover art should be a more modest. I do have a license to use a gun."

Castle looked in mock horror at Jim Beckett. He glared back at Castle. Then both men laughed. "I am sorry Jim, you do not have that patented 'Beckett Death Stare' like your daughter."

"I know, she gets it from her mother. There were plenty of nights I went to bed with one eye open after being on the receiving end of one of those." The crowd laughed. Jim Beckett continued, "Normally, if anyone ever hurt my Katie in anyway, I would protect her in all ways possible. There were a few times when Katie's heart was breaking because of what happened between you. I held my tongue, squeezed my arm and left Katie to work it out with you. I knew that anything you might have done to hurt Katie was unintentional. I figured that if you two were to have any future, and I really hoped you would, you two would have to work it out by yourselves."

"Doesn't mean we didn't give them a little nudge now and again." Martha said.

"Amen to that," shouted Lanie, Esposito, Ryan and even Gates. Castle and Beckett looked shocked.

"Finally, you both worked it out and we are here to celebrate. I told you before but it bares repeating, that you that you are the kind of man that Johanna and I would have picked for Katie." Jim Beckett whispers to Martha "can I have my soda, please." As she hands it to him, he raises and says, "cheers!"

From the guests come shouts of "Sante, Salud, evviva, L'chaim, ЖивЛи," Castle took a sip of his champagne and then was pulled into a hearty kiss from his wife.

**End Note: It may seem unfinished but this is a good place to break now. I will post the next chapter in a day or two. It is already finished. Thanks to everybody who takes the time to write reviews. I love them. Remember 'Reviews feed the Muse.' Keep them coming, good, bad or indifferent. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Note: This chapter is the Martha Rodgers toast. Other fanfic authors have a superb job with this and other characters giving toasts. I tried with this to recap the Caskett love story from Martha's eyes. You may think I left out some things, but will try and incorporate them in a few more toasts to come. **

**The Castle characters are not mine. Their use, or the use of, or resemblance of any other characters, to any persons, living or dead, and the words and opinions they may speak are my creations just for the story. **

Martha took the mike from Jim Beckett, "Please correct me if I use the baseball metaphors incorrectly, but I say that you knocked that one out of the park. I know that it is difficult to go back to back, but I am going to try. I first met my daughter-in-law when we had to bail Richard out of jail. I thought 'such a beautiful woman. If she were an actress, model, even a business woman, Richard would be putting a 'full court press' on her. Did I mix my sports here?"

Espo and Ryan together shouted, "Yes, Mrs. R. but no matter. We understand, please continue."

"Ok, since the umpires have ruled no foul, I will continue." Esposito and Ryan just shook their heads. "Even so, I noticed that Richard was trying to work his charms on Katherine. She was however was a no-nonsense professional and despite his best efforts, it seemed to Richard that she was not moved at all."

Castle called out, "Not according to Jim." Beckett and Alexis poked him from different sides at the same time and 'shhhushed him.' He was a little scared. Alexis was learning the Beckett Death Stare. Now with both of them at home, he thought more seriously on taking Kate up on those self-defense classes.

"Well, kiddo, I am glad you thought so at any rate. After that first day at the precinct, you became a changed man. Up early and out with a purpose. Home late, putting in the long hours that are demanded in your profession, Katherine. What you may not have noticed was that for the first week, Richard hardly slept. When Richard came home, he had a quick bite to eat and then stayed in his office all night, typing notes or something. When I woke up the next morning, coffee was already made and Richard was up getting ready for 'work'. I could not remember the last time he was so excited about anything."

Kate leaned over to Rick, "Well Castle, it looks like you were into me first."

Rick smiled and whispered, "Wait for it."

"It took me a long time to decide whether Richard was excited about playing cop or working with you each day Katherine." Castle just smiled and Beckett rolled her eyes.

Martha continued, "I thought, maybe it could be both." Castle and Beckett turned to one another and stuck out their tongues.

"When Richard was growing up, he did not have too many friends." Castle was starting to a little irked. He knew that his mother was not making fun of him, this was just her perception of how he grew up. Truth was she was largely right about this. When he felt Beckett's hand take his and squeeze, he knew he could handle this. "So when all of you from the 12th came over once in awhile to play poker, I could not be more thrilled. This said to me that all of you were his friends. More important that he felt this way too. I was glad that Katherine was included. At first I just thought that she was one of the 'boys.' If that was what it was, I was ok with that. Very soon though, I realized that she was NOT one of the 'boys' in Richard's eyes."

"The first hint I got was at a poker game. Richard is ruthless at any game, will not even let his daughter win." Alexis turned to look at her father and put on a mock pout. Her expression was caught on the screens by the videographer and all the guests laughed. "One night though, the hand came down to he and Katherine. Richard had the better hand but let Katherine win. Richard was good, he did not let on that he folded that hand. I thought Katherine should know how he felt about her so I told her. She seemed mad at first, but before I hung up, I heard her giggle."

"OOO, so she did tell you." Castle wined to Beckett. "I knew it!"

"My dear, I was a little worried after this. You did not seem to show any more feelings toward my son then a casual friendship. However you soon you put my fears to rest. At the gala, I saw you two together when I was auctioning off Richard and his first edition. You were enjoying it, seeing Richard squirm a little."

"I did enjoy watching you squirm at that point you know." Beckett whispered to Castle. "I knew you would entertain the highest bidder with good conversation and food but at the end you would..."

"... say goodnight and be back at the precinct with you the next day." Martha finished Beckett's thought and sentence. "When you came to the loft to return my necklace and regaled us with the night's activities, I knew you were not acting. You voice, choice of words, manners and enthusiasm in retelling the story were those of a woman excited about her date with a man. Ah, there was hope I thought."

"Meanwhile, my son was writing again, at a furious pace I might add. He was out at night, at obligatory book signings, appearances and certain charity events, but that was it. The only other places he would be at were with you, Katherine, at home writing or with Alexis."

"When Richard came home after he told you what he found about your mother's case, he was so quiet and sad. He was never this way about any 'breakup' with a woman before, not Audra Dobson, not Meredith or Gina. Even his sadness about at the loss of Kyra Blaine was not the same. I got the sense that break up was somewhat mutual. no one was at fault, they were just going separate ways. Whatever caused these breakups, Richard would never admit he had anything to do with it. However with you my dear, Richard felt, nay, knew he was wrong. This time his charm, wit, 'novelist's curiosity excuse', and good looks could not make right what he did wrong. I was hoping against hope that you would take him back when he apologized. When he came back, all smiles, I knew he was hooked. I was also felt that your forgiving him was a small piece of evidence that you thought more of Richard then just a 'nine year old on a sugar rush.'"

Kate leaned over to Rick and asked, "How did she find out about that?"

"Maybe from Captain Montgomery or..." Castle thought for a second, turned to Beckett and said, "she saw your inscription to me on that picture you gave me a long time ago. The one with the little boy behind you while you were tying up your skate laces.

**To the Nine-Year old kid on a sugar rush,**

**Please do not ever stop pulling my pigtails. ;)**

"You still have that picture?" Kate asked

"Sure do, it is one of my most precious treasures." Castle answered.

Kate looked at him with a stunned expression. "You never cease to amaze me. Have I told you recently that I love you very much?" she laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his.

"Yes, but I never get tired of hearing it." Castle said as he kissed the top of her head.

"Forgive me Katherine for saying this but..." this jolted Castle and Beckett out of their reverie, "There were times that I wished Richard would give up stop assisting you. That time you and he met Detective Ragland at the coffee shot, or that horrible day when you were shot. I know that you would give your life for Richard, but unfortunately none of you can stop a bullet. I was scared. Then there were those few months after your shooting. I know you needed space, but it was hard to watch my son in pain because you did not call. That whole year was rough for us all, especially that bombing and the aftermath. I spoke to Richard about that and his relationship with you. I do not remember exactly what I said, but it must have work. He never stopped and would never stop loving you no matter what. I just had to get him to tell you that."

Out of the corner of his eye, Castle saw his beloved mouth to his mother "Thank you."

Martha went on, "Still, I was not sure how you felt until we were hostages in that Bank Robbery. The look of relief and joy on your face, my dear Katherine, when you saw my son alive was priceless. I let it go on for a bit, just to make sure my son saw it too, then I had to break it up or I would be there all day." The guests smiled.

"Just when I thought we would all get our hearts desire, both you and my son had to throw another monkey wrench in the works. Your father told me a little about your discussion in the coffee shot. I am grateful for that. I do not have to tell you how upset Richard was about your DC job. He could not see how you could take it. I did and told him so. In a round about way, I told him that you loved him and I knew that he loved you. The fact was that he thought he knew what love was, but he was wrong twice. I knew this was different, you were and are different from the others. Deep down, Richard knew that too. I just pushed him to act on it, which we are all glad he did." A lot of 'Here, Here, Yes, and Thank God' came from the guests.

Castle couldn't have asked for a better toast. He was about to take Beckett's hand to get up and Martha continued. "My dears, just let me say that I am scared to this day for you both. I know how good you are at your job Katherine, how safe you try and be. I will say that I am much less scared when you two are together. If something horrible befalls you both, I am much more confident that, together, you will work it out sometimes alone..." she looked at Esposito, Lanie, and Ryan and winked. Martha then turned to see Captain Gates and thank her too with her eyes. She continued, "and more often with your excellent team, your friends. As a closing remark, I just would like to say we all here love you both so very much. Cheers!"

Castle took Beckett's with one of his and started to get up. With his other hand, Castle took the box of tissues from Alexis. The couple went up to their parents, hugged and kissed both to the applause of the guests.

**End Note: The picture referred to herein was one Caskett found when they were searching through Johanna's things (season 3 x13. Knockdown) after they were booted off the Ragland murder. I put the two together in my first fan fiction story, **_Scholarship for Johanna Beckett_**. It may seem unfinished but this is a good place to break now. I will post the next chapter in a day or two. It is already finished. Thanks to everybody who takes the time to write reviews. I love them. Remember 'Reviews feed the Muse.' Keep them coming, good, bad or indifferent. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Note: I googled the James Bond songs and listed to a medly of them. I chose some of my favorites and ones I thought could be danced to. Buika is an artist that Stana Katic likes. I forgot which website I found some of her favorites listed. The Buika dance is paraphrased from another one of my Castle fics **_Scholarship for Johanna Beckett_**. **

**The Castle characters are not mine. Their use, or the use of, or resemblance of any other characters, to any persons, living or dead, and the words and opinions they may speak are my creations just for the story. **

After the parents toasts, everyone went back to their seats. While everyone was enjoying the first courses, the band and DJ got ready to play. "In all my years of doing the this," the band leader started, "this is one of the oddest requests for a set. Mr. DJ and the band are going to alternate songs, all themed to one famed British Secret Agent. Please turn your attention to the screens while we prepare."

The screens came. Gina appeared. Beckett looked at Castle. He was shocked, "I, I did not do this, I had no idea."

"Rick, Kate," Gina began, "all of us at Black Pawn want to congratulate both of you on your happy day. You are both very special to us, Rick with your talent and good humor and sportsmanship. Kate with your tolerance at putting up with him and allowing him to use you as his muse. You should know that more then once, we suggested some changes to your character and her interaction with Rook. Each and every time Rick vetoed it. He was ferociously protective of you and your character. Smart, kind, sensitive and just enough sexy. We are very pleased he stayed true to your character."

Paula then appeared. "Rick, Kate, I too want to congratulate you both. I was a little unsure of what Rick had in mind when he said he wanted to do a new series based on you Kate, but he knew what he was doing all along. I do not know, but at one time he was offered a 3 book deal concerning a certain British Secret Agent. Reading those books are what made him want to write in the first place. Before you, Kate, he would have taken the deal in a heart beat. After he did Nikki Heat though, he was really torn as to what to do. It was not about leaving crime novels to do spy ones, it was about leaving you. Well, we are all very glad that he chose you. Not just because of the success of the series, which in no small part is attributed to you, Kate. But also because Rick is truly happy and a happy man is a creative man."

Then, on the screen appeared a comic book cover. It had a superhero duo on it consisting of a Batman like character with his mask off. The character looked a lot like Castle. Next to him was a beautiful woman, with her mask off that looked a lot like Beckett. Gina reappeared with Paula. "This was drawn by Paul Whittaker as a unique gift to you both. We had it made into this large poster and framed as a gift to you both. In addition, we both want to give you access to Black Pawn's private jet to take you to your honeymoon. Details have already been sent to you via e-mail and it will be ready to take you whenever you are ready to go. In addition, the band will now play a tribute to you. Congratulations again."

Kate smiled. "See, I told you they should be invited. That was sweet." She then bit her lip and whispered to Castle, "With a private jet, it will be easier to become a member of the mile high club over and over." At that moment, Castle's phone buzzed. It was a text from Paula. HOPE YOU LIKE YOUR GIFTS. BLACK PAWN WANTS TO DO A GRAPHIC NOVEL WITH HEAT AND ROOK AS SUPER HEROS. LETS TALK WHEN YOU GET BACK. He was tempted to show the text to Beckett, but why ruin it. When she asked who it was, he said wrong number.

The band played the James Bond theme song. The DJ then played Nancy Sinatra singing the theme from 'You Only Live Twice'. "See," Castle told Beckett, "I did get a Sinatra to sing at our wedding."

Beckett did not say anything but grabbed Castle and took him onto the dance floor. A number of guests followed as the band and DJ alternated with more Bond songs. 'Live and Let Die'; 'Casino Royale' (the one from the Daniel Craig movie, not the spoof with David Niven); Duran Duran's 'View to a Kill'; 'Golden Eye'; and ending up with Carly Simon's 'Nobody Does it Better.' By the time that was playing, the dance floor was filled.

While people were dancing, the band leader reminded everyone to fill out their entree choices. Alexis had been dancing a little with Jim Beckett during this time. After the James Bond set, she took him and took Kate. "Dad, I need to talk to Kate and Mr. Beckett alone for a minute. Make sure to check Mr. Beckett's chicken choice of entree." and with that she led them away. Castle was very puzzled but did as he was asked.

Out of the corner of his eye, Castle saw his daughter, wife and father-in-law in serious conversation. After a few minutes, he thought that Jim Beckett was going to cry. He and Alexis hugged each other and then she hugged Beckett. He had seen Alexis and Beckett hug a couple of times before. Each time the two most important women in his life did this, it sent a wave of warmth through him that was magically delicious. He was also happy to see Alexis take to his father-in-law, although what brought this on he did not know.

At this point, the female vocal lead for the band got up and started to sing a song by an artist known as Buika. Her music he thought was a mixture of Jazz, R&B with a Spanish base. It was quiet, soothing, yet with a beat that could be danced too. When Beckett heard this, she came right over to Castle and took him to the dance floor. Beckett recognized the song and gave him a puzzled look. "How did you know this is one of my favorite songs? Were you in my draws again?"

"It's uncanny how many things you say that can be construed as inappropriate, although at this point, I guess it is one of your wifely privileges." Castle answered.

Kate's expression was one of mock shock, "I can't help it if you put words in my mouth."

Now it was Castle's turn to look shocked. "See, there you go again." As he said that, he pulled Beckett just a little closer. "I remembered how much you like her from our first gala fundraiser for your mother's scholarship." The music was warm and he felt her body move even closer to him as the sounds washed over them. All present watched as the pair floated around the dance floor. Neither of them though noticed though because at that moment, they were the only two in the room.

The next song had a strong conga beat. Both Esposito and Ryan came out to the dance floor. "Castle, how about letting the 'boys' dance with 'mom' for a little bit?"

"Well, if she is up for it"

Beckett grabbed both their hands and led them away. Last he saw of her, Kate was rockin the dance floor like she did at the disco at the end of one of their recent cases. He felt sorry for the boys as they had a hard time keeping up. Then he heard Jim Beckett calling him over.

"What's up Jim?"

"I have to tell you what an extraordinary daughter you have raised. I think Johanna and I did pretty well with Katie," Castle shook his head in agreement, "but you did this basically on your own."

"Well I did have a little help from my mother." Castle injected.

"Ah yes and despite Hurricane Martha, Alexis is great." They both laughed. Jim Beckett continued. "I just wanted to tell you what the little caucus that Katie and I had with Alexis was all about." Castle looked a little worried. "It was nothing bad. It was, in fact the most respectful thing that has ever happened to me. I have not spent much time with granddaughter but with your and her permission, I would like to remedy that."

Castle was about to answer and a look of complete shock came across his face, "Granddaughter?!"

"Yes. Alexis was told that she could call Katie by her first name."

"I remember that, Kate told her she could."

"That's right. But she wasn't sure what she should call me. She loves Kate and respects me a lot. Given yours and Katie's legal status, she asked us both of she could call me Gramps or Grandpa. She never had knew her grandfathers and was saddened by that fact. She also thought it would make me feel more like family. Alexis wanted Katie in on the decision too because she did not want her to feel weird about it."

"I hope that was not too awkward for you or Kate." Castle asked.

"Not at all, on the contrary, it was most respectful. I looked at Katie and said, 'I would love it, as long as I could boast about you to my friends as my granddaughter.' Katie agreed and we settled it." That magically delicious wave of warmth was flowing through Castle again. "I do not know how you did it by yourself with Alexis. I can tell you that if Alexis has brothers and or sisters, you are going to need all the help you can get. I know Katie has told you some about her wild child phases, but I am sure they were toned down. Let me just say that whatever amount of Katie is inherited by your children, you are going to need her help, Alexis and your mother's too."

"Your help too, right Jim?"

"Well of course. I look forward to it. One caveat though, when the going gets tough, I can go home to my apartment or upstate to the cabin. Grandparents are for spoiling and reminding the parents that their children's behavior is divine retribution for the way they acted when they were young." Castle gulped and saw Jim smile.

The DJ took the microphone. "Everybody please take your seats, Dinner is being served."

Esposito was sitting next to Castle. Before they sat down, he nudged Castle, "Castle, does that DJ sound familiar to you?"

"Why yes he dose, Detective Esposito. We were all wondering when you would figure it out. It is your 'little brother', Joey Malone a/k/a Monster. Ryan and Lanie told us that he picked up some great DJ skills from Holly Rose, a/k/a DJ Beat before she was murdered."

"Yeah, I remember he told me he was working with some other DJ's after school and on summer breaks. When did he get all this equipment and stuff?" Esposito said.

"Well, when my wife wanted a DJ, I thought about him. His employers were either busy, or did not want to play the mix we wanted or did not want to co-host with a band. My mother and I decided that she needed a DJ at her school every so often for musicals etc. and I wanted a special DJ. Lanie contacted him for us. We talked and my mother and I agreed to buy him this start up equipment. We also agreed that he could store it at the her acting school so long as he agreed to work the wedding and at the school. At first he resisted the fact that Beckett and I wanted Sinatra and some other oldies but goodies, but only for a very short moment, and here he is."

"Wow!, that is great. Thank you." Esposito said.

"There is more," Castle continued. "Of course my mother and I wanted to pay him. He said 'No', his 'big brother' taught him to accept help graciously but repay it when he could, or pay it forward. Monster would not accept the equipment or the gigs unless we agreed that he would pay us back in full, with interest. We agreed on a number and he is working part of it off with his appearance here and the work at my mother's school."

"He is good," Esposito said with pride.

"That he is my man. I do believe that many of our guests have noticed that too and will retain his services in the near future. Just be sure that he continues his schooling."

"Oh, that I will. Maybe even get him to the University of New York." Esposito smiled, "Excuse me bro." and with that he went off to see Joey. Castle watched for a minute and when Espo and Joey met, they gave each other a great big man hug. Each was smiling a mile wide. Castle felt good and sat down to eat.

End Note:**. Joey made his appearance in season 5 x 11, **_'Under the Influence.' _**Thanks to everybody who takes the time to write reviews. I love them. Remember 'Reviews feed the Muse.' Keep them coming, good, bad or indifferent. **


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Note/Story Note: **I cannot remember if I introduced the writers before, so I tried to do so again in a short way here. This story may seem like a lot of toasts, remembrances etc. Well it is but to paraphrase Castle, 'It is my story and I'll tell it as I want to' I do hope though that these toasts, remembrances are different then others. They are used to tell some back stories, incorporate early episodes and show the depth of the character and the feelings the other characters have for them**.

**The Castle characters are not mine. Their use, or the use of, or resemblance of any other characters, to any persons, living or dead, and the words and opinions they may speak are my creations just for the story. **

As the guests were eating, DJ Joey was playing some Coltrane. Castle asked him to because he knew that Coltrane made his wife feel all 'tingly' inside. Not that he needed to seduce her tonight, but he knew it had a calming effect on her. With the rush of emotions that they both were feeling today, Castle wanted a little 'down' time for them and this helped.

After the Coltrane set, Castle and Beckett were just about done with their entree. It was time they said something to the group. They had talked about it before. Castle tapped his glass for attention. Everyone stopped and looked at him as he got up with Beckett. The boys, Jim Beckett, his mother and Alexis all expected him to kiss his bride. He started to speak and someone yelled out, "Kiss her already!"

Castle and Beckett looked at each other in surprise. This was not the reason they had gotten up. Still, neither could resist an opportunity to kiss the other. They were getting used to PDA's. Castle took Beckett in his arms, said "You don't have to tell me twice." and kissed her. Everybody applauded and started to go back to what they were doing.

"Uh mmmmm." Castle said. "Although a most pleasurable moment of which there will be plenty more, that is not the reason Kate and I are standing." Everyone stopped and listened. The band leader brought the mike to he and Kate, although his voice did carry throughout the setting. Castle continued, "I know there have been speeches before and there will be more speeches coming," he looked at Alexis. "I know it is unusual for the bride and groom to make more then one speech, if that many. Hey, it is our party and we will speak if we want to. We will speak as often as we want to so get used to it." Castle then heard voices from a long time ago. James Patterson said, 'Pretty self aggrandizing, Rick.' Cannell then said to Patterson, 'This is Castle were talking about.' Castle let out a little laugh and the guests then laughed too.

"What was all that about?" Beckett said as she turned to Castle.

"Just an attempt at humor." Castle said in a whisper. "Funny thing though is our guests were a little shocked. When I started to laugh, I think they thought it was a joke, and started to laugh. In fact, I was thinking of something Patterson and Cannell told me a long time ago."

Castle took the mike. "Anyway, you all may have noticed a few empty seats at some of the tables. One here, one with Captain Gates and party, one with a few of the better known mystery authors and one over there. Each represents a friend or loved one that Kate and I wish were here. Each one represents a person who had a profound and lasting effect on Kate and I together or individually. We will get to these individuals in a minute. The empty seats also represent all those people whom my wife found justice for when the wicked permanently took their voice away. Please indulge me while I remember, Stephen J. Cannell and Captain Roy Montgomery."

The whole place went quiet. Castle continued. "Most of you know Stephen Cannell by reputation and his works. If that is the only reason you know him, that would be enough to respect him and remember him. I had the distinct honor and pleasure to meet him early on in my writing career. We were at a Barnes & Nobel opening in NYC. I had just completed my second Derrick Storm Book. I was like an opening act to his main event. I think he was signing for 'Viking Funeral' or 'Hollywood Tough.' He actually bought my book and stood in line to get it signed. I was shocked. Well, I wanted to reciprocate so I bought his book and stood to get it signed. He wrote, 'Keep up the good work, this character has a lot of potential. Do you play poker?'" Most of the crowd had puzzled looks on their face, however Connelly and Lehane laughed.

"I see you all have the same look I had when I read this. Well I stuck around till he finished and asked him what he meant. He said he needed a fourth for one of his poker groups. To be a member, you had to be a published mystery writers. Did I want to join the group. Well I jumped at the chance. Had I known what would happen at the first game, I would have had second and third thoughts."

"Not as bad as I got," Alex Conrad shouted out from the writer's table.

"Worse," Castle said. Conrad looked at Lehane and Connelly and nodded their heads in agreement with Castle. Castle saw this and said, "Still making rookie mistakes." They all laughed.

Castle continued. "Whether it was out of pity, concern or affection, I will never know, but Cannell came up to me after the game. 'You did fine Ricky. I hope you will continue to play in our group.' Well I am glad that I did. Not only did Cannell help me hone my skills as a writer, he helped me solve some of my early cases with the 12th."

Beckett, Ryan, Esposito and Lanie all shouted with mock horror "What?"

"OOO, caught." Castle continued sheepishly, "Well, I guess I did take credit for one or two of Cannell's ideas."

"We'll talk about this later, Ricky" Beckett said with seriousness.

"OOOO you are in trouble now writer-boy." Lanie called out. When she saw Beckett put her hand to her mouth to try and stifle a laugh, Lanie broke out the giggles. So did Beckett and then the entire group laughed.

"Dodged a bullet on that one, pun intended." Castle said. "Here's to you my friend." Everyone held up a glass and took a drink.

Castle continued. "Another person who we remember here today is Captain Roy Montgomery. I did not have as much time with him as my wife did and I am sure she will have more to say about him later, but let me start. I first met Captain Montgomery when I was 'asked' to accompany my wife to the 12th that fateful night 6 years ago. I heard him outside the interrogation room before Kate here came in to question me. Montgomery asked her if she thought she could handle me with my 'bad boy, wise ass reputation.' Oh, she said, she was sure she could."

"I think I did a pretty good job of it." Beckett interjected.

"Except when I flustered you once or twice." Castle retorted. She gave him the Beckett death stare. "See, that is the way she looked at me when she left the night." He was punched on the arm for that one. Castle continued. "Anyway, I was intrigued by this whole matter. I barely slept that night, went to the 12th the next day and saw Captain Montgomery. He looked very skeptical about my helping at all. My 'Bad Boy' reputation must have proceeded me. When I mentioned to him one or two observations I had from the file he became more interested in my help. Finally when Montgomery saw the volume of fan mail to go through he agreed that I could help on this one case, even though my lovely wife tried to talk him out of it."

Again Beckett interjected. "Well, in my defense, if any of you had to put up with what I did that time, you would not want him following you either."

"Me thinks my lovely bride doth protest too much." That remark earned Castle a poke. "Apples, Apples," he said. Then Castle continued, "I did prove to be a little helpful on that case. I had fun pretending to be a cop, but more important I had fun with Detective Beckett. She was inspiring. The next day, I called my friend Messuer L'Mayor who called the Police Commissioner who called Captain Montgomery and told him that I would be doing research in his precinct, particularly with Detective Beckett. Well, after the phone call, Montgomery shut his door. Then he proceeded to tell me that 'No one tells him whom to accept in HIS precinct. That HE was the boss their. That he would never allow a politician to pressure HIM to do any favors for anyone. 'Do I make myself clear, Mr. Castle?' 'Yes sir.' I said as I was getting up to leave."

"You never said that to me when we work together" Beckett said with a mock pout. "You are not a Captain" Castle answered. When he heard the crowd gasp, he quickly added "Yet." Beckett was about to move in for the kill when Castle quickly continued. "Montgomery then surprised me when he then said, 'Please sit down Mr. Castle.' I did as I was told and he proceeded to tell me that HE thought it was a good idea for me to help his detectives. He was impressed by my observations and deductive reasoning, even if it sometimes was a little far out. He would be glad of the help for his precinct, especially Detective Beckett. 'I see that you have fun out there, that you enjoy this type of work. Make sure Detective Beckett has some fun too. She is my best, but could be even better if she has a little fun. HOWEVER, if you ever tell her about this conversation. I will shoot you just before she shoots me. Stay here a moment.' With that Montgomery called Beckett into his office and told her about the newest member of her team."

"Any more secrets I should know about before this marriage goes any further?" Beckett says.

"Oh, so many my love, but none I can tell you here." Castle smirked and he saw Beckett take a small nip at her lips. It was hard to continue but he was almost done. "Anyway after that, Montgomery and I grew to respect each other. When Roy told me how he was looking for a poker group to play with once in awhile, I formed my 'Gotham City Crew'. As I told my wife when she wanted a rematch, it consisted of her boss (Montgomery), her boss' boss (the Mayor) and the man that signs her warrants (Judge Markaway). We had fun those time and joked at the precinct a lot. Captain Montgomery's hand kept all of us on track at work. His experience and insights led us down the right path more then once to get the bad guy. And my special thanks to him because he trusted me to not make a wreck of his best detective."

Castle raised his glass and all said, "To Captain Roy Montgomery."

End Note: **Thanks to everybody who reads my story. Special thanks to those who take the time to write reviews. Remember 'Reviews feed the Muse.' Keep them coming, good, bad or indifferent. **


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Note/Story Note: **Some of you may think that there will be no end to this. I think those people who had weddings such as this, probably wished the wedding would never end. It will in the next few chapters. I have it all planned out. There is a surprise at the end of the story that some may not like. I will remind about it later. Meanwhile I hope you continue to**.

**The Castle characters are not mine. Their use, or the use of, or resemblance of any other characters, to any persons, living or dead, and the words and opinions they may speak are my creations just for the story. **

"I would like to add my own perspective to my husband's remembrance of Captain Montgomery." Beckett began. "After I graduated from the Police Academy, I angled every which way I could, called in any favors I had and promised as much as I could to get assigned to the 12th. There were two reasons, one was it had files on my mother's case and just as important, it had Captain Roy Montgomery. I heard the Captain lecture once at the Academy and I was impressed. The word around the Academy was also that he was one of the best Captains around. Fair, a great teacher, and fun. As luck would have it, I did not get assigned to the 12th right away. Instead, fate intervened for the better actually. I was assigned to a precinct in Brooklyn, the 78th. There, I was assigned to Mike Royce as my training officer. Mike taught me how to be a cop. When he was transferred to the 12th , he took me with him."

Beckett continued. "I spent a lot of time in the record's room of the precinct looking at my mother's case. I was not really supposed too and Captain Montgomery caught me there once. Although he could have disciplined me, he did not. Instead he gave me some advice. Shortly thereafter, I was promoted to detective. Royce was also promoted, but he had his 20 in and retired. I did not think how much I was going to miss Mike at that time. I was too busy learning to be a detective from Captain Montgomery."

Castle saw his wife tearing up a little. He immediately grabbed the box of tissues and gave her some.

"Thanks," she said, "Allergies." Everyone smiled. "And so I did learn how to become a detective. It is a very hard job. Intellectually you know that the world is not really like the one cops see day in and day out. Emotionally though, the horror, sadness and cruelty we cops see cannot help but effect each one of us. I know I was moving in the direction of becoming burnt out, like Mike Royce, very quickly. Roy Montgomery called me into his office at one of my low points in my life and, I hate to admit it, with my now husband. Martha said it before that Castle and I would not be here without a little nudge now and again. Roy Montgomery was a nudger. Hard as it is for me to believe it, I did ask Captain Montgomery to relieve me of Castle duty. He said 'Yes'. I was stunned. My husband is right. Roy Montgomery ran the 12th, no one else. He told me that Castle was there to help me have some fun. I did not want to admit it then, but he was right. Being a cop is a job with no victories. It is a never ending job that we do to keep our friends and relatives safe as we can. To keep society from complete anarchy. Roy Montgomery also told me that while we speak for the dead, 'We don't owe them our lives.' Roy Montgomery told me that he saw how good Castle was for me. That Castle brought fun to the job. Not ho, ho, ho fun, but he sees the points of light in the darkness, makes fun of the team in a way where we laughed with each other. Even in death, there can be some humor for death is inevitable for everyone."

Everyone was quite now. Even the wait staff did not move. "Even before Captain Montgomery saw it, Mike Royce saw it. Mike taught me how to be a cop. His strong suit was observation, integration and deduction. You find the evidence by observation, integrate the evidence into a pattern and deduce the perpetrator's identity from that. I learned that from Mike. What I did not realize until much later that Mike used that same system to also come to the conclusion that Castle was good for me. He said, 'Risking our hearts is why we're alive. The last thing you want is to look back and wonder, if only?' Royce could have made this generalization a long time ago, but he made it in specific reference to Castle. I did not see it clear enough then, but I do now. I lost two people I loved that year, but they were looking out for me. They nudged me on the road to today and an extremely bright future. I love you both very much."

Castle looked over at his wife. She was overcome and overwhelmed. He, has always helped her out in times such as these. He raised his glass, "To Mike Royce."

"And to Captain Montgomery." Beckett added.

"Mike Royce and Captain Montgomery," the chorus of guests repeated and all drank.

"Do you want to say a few words about your mother?" Castle whispered to his wife.

"Not now" she replied "later."

After a minute of silence, the band leader announced, "Desert will be served shortly. In the meantime the dance floor is open." Upbeat dance music filled the venue and people got up and began to dance. Beckett and Castle were shakin their groove to Donna Summer, KC and Sunshine Band, Bee Gees and Queen to name a few. Both Castle and Beckett especially liked Queen. The band sang 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' and 'Another Bites the Dust'. DJ Joey played 'Fat Bottomed Girls' when Lanie and Esposito came out on the dance floor. DJ Joey announced the song for his 'Big Brother'. Lanie knew what that was about and would have socked DJ Joey and Esposito, but Jenny and Beckett moved in between shaking their booty. Castle and Ryan moved in and soon all were laughing and dancing. Martha and Jim were trying their hand at the disco too but not moving as well as the others.

Before they knew, about 40 minutes had passed. Many of their friends were exhausted from dancing, but the newlyweds still had some wind left. Every time they started movin to the grovin, friends, relatives, guests would come up to them. They would do a little dance and talk to the Bride or Groom, nothing so strenuous and then the next person would show up. Castle and Beckett spoke to each other with their eyes, ' I want to dance with you.'; 'Come here to me, get me out of this'; 'I can't, please come here and get me out of this'; 'I can't fix this, help!'; 'Wait, I know just the thing.'

With that, Castle went to DJ Joey. Joey was also working the videographer who was collecting tapes from the karaoke machine. After a short conversation, Joey took a memory stick he labeled

'Old People Dance Music, 1960-1972' and slipped into his board. Then he made an announcement. "Ladies and Gentlemen, time to slow it down a little. Coffee and after dinner drinks will be brought around to your tables in a few minuets and then desert. Please take advantage of this classic dance music to catch your breath. After desert things are going to heat up again."

As Castle started to walk toward Beckett he heard the Funky Kings, singing 'Slow Dancin'. He toook his love and slowly started to move to the music. Beckett drew herself into Castle as closely as she could and moved gently with him. Then The Stylistics serenaded the wedding party with 'You are Everything.' Just when Beckett was at her most comfortable, the speakers started playing, 'I've Got a brand new pair of roller skates, you've got a brand new key'. Castle moved back a step. "And the universe smiles on us. Now you will have to show me your moves on ice or roller skates. I will get new skates and give you the key. You have the key to my heart, Always." They stopped, hugged and kissed.

Soon the music was over and people returned to their seats. Castle was going inside to freshen up and use the facilities. As he was on the porch he again saw that helicopter. That same helicopter that had appeared and disappeared a few times earlier that night. He was mad. He needed to call Chief Brady and find out what was going on. Still looking at the one of the wait staff appeared. "Here is the cordless, Mr. Castle. The police department phone number is on speed dial 2." Castle was a little shocked. He had not asked for this, nor spoken to anyone before. It took him a minute to turn around but the wait staffer was gone. Castle caught a glimpse of the silver haired gentlemen but could not recognize him because his back was turned toward Castle.

"Hello, Chief Brady, this is Richard Castle. ...Yes thank you for your well wishes. I hope the extra traffic is not causing your force problems... Oh, the Mayor and Town Counsel want to thank me... Well yes, I guess all these people do bring in revenue for the town. Good, I am glad, listen, I have been seeing a helicopter hovering over my place and ... Really, someone has already reported it. You are coming out to investigate. Thank you. Please call me when you arrive. See you soon." Castle cocked his head a minute and thought 'How strange, I wonder what this is all...' Then he saw his beautiful wife smile at him with a drink in her hand, swirling the ice cubes around in it. All thoughts save one, left him and he headed straight to her.

End Note: **Thanks to everybody who reads my story. Special thanks to those who take the time to write reviews. Remember 'Reviews feed the Muse.' Keep them coming, good, bad or indifferent. **


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Note/Story Note:**. This chapter is the longest to date and probably will be. I wanted to get in Alexis' 'Best Man' toast. I hope you do not see each toast as a rehash of the Caskett story. There is some overlap but I try to bring in parts of the story specifically related to that character. There is one more 'toast' and some fun before the end. Meanwhile I hope you continue to enjoy**.

**The Castle characters are not mine. Their use, or the use of, or resemblance of any other characters, to any persons, living or dead, and the words and opinions they may speak are my creations just for the story. **

Castle and Beckett straighten themselves out after a five minute quicky. "Well, I guess I can cross that one off my bucket list," Beckett said..

"What number on the list was that, my wife?" Castle asked.

"Are you really asking for my number?" Beckett smiled with a Cheshire Cat grin.

"Well, I want to see if it was the same as my number on my list."

"I saw your list Castle, I did not see any reference to what we just did on the list."

"Well my dearest, it many not have been on the list, but I was seriously thinking about putting it on their, a little below my number 1." Castle looked at her smiling and moving his eyebrows up and down.

"Men" was all that Beckett could say without bursting out laughing. When she composed herself, Beckett asked, "What were talking to Chief Brady about. I overheard a little of the conversation?"

"I have seen this helicopter flying overhead a few times. I am afraid it is some rag or something else that is invading our privacy, not to mention it Matilda King could be upset if some rival puts pictures in their magazine before she does. That all may sound crass, but I have seen it happen before and I do not want to ruin this day now, or forever." As Castle was saying this, his voice was getting higher and louder. His face getting red with anger.

Kate cupped his face in her hands, held his head still and looked at him square. "Rick, I do not care. Nothing could ruin this day. I would not have cared if we got married at City Hall. I am married to you and that is all I ever wanted. The whole world should know that I am yours and your are mine."

Those eyes. That is one of the things that attracted Castle to her in the first place. Those eyes. He calmed down looked at his wife, his extraordinary wife. They said together, "Always."

Both then heard Lanie in the distance. Her voice was becoming stronger as she got closer. "Kate! Castle! Where are you two?" Upon seeing them she shouted again, "Girlfriend where have you two been." Upon closer examination of the newlyweds, Lanie gasped, "Oh no you two didn't. Kate, number 4?" Beckett coughed and her face was becoming sunburn red. Lanie was afraid she would faint. Castle saw this and ran to get a shot of something alcoholic. He found a tumbler of vodka and gave it to Lanie. "Ok, Ok,, take a sip of this."

After choking it down, Beckett relaxed. "Lanie! You just caught me off guard." and then she whispered, "I did not want Castle to know the number, at least not yet." Both then started to laugh. Castle relaxed now that all was calm.

"Bring the rest of the vodka, Castle, you two are in for more roasts, toasts and dancing. We will all need some fortification." With that, the trio went back to the main gathering. these people do bring in revenue for the town.

The band was playing slow dance tunes for those who wanted to dance. Meanwhile, people were milling around, enjoying fruit, cookies and little cakes. On the screens were videos of guests singing tunes from the karaoke machine. Some could have competed on American Idol. Others would not get pass the first stanza. Some gave congratulatory wishes to the background of music. One or two actually changed the lyrics to the song or at least the refrain to make specific to Kate and Rick. Some were humorous, some sweet.

At one point, Jim Beckett and Martha were on the screen singing 'Sunrise, Sunset'. Castle and Beckett saw this and took each other's hand. They were enchanted. When Martha and Jim were finished, they turned to each, on the screen, "Well Jim, you sing pretty well for a lawyer."

"Well, Martha," Jim said, "we lawyers like to 'cut loose' once in awhile. And you seem to take your singing pretty seriously, for an actor."

Castle and Beckett were beginning to have flashback nightmares watching this unfold on screen. The 'Horror' movie continued. "Well Jim then, lets see how serious you take this." Martha started to sing 'Take me out to the Ball Game'. On screen, Jim Beckett joined in. Both were in good spirits and when they finished, together they said, "Everyone." The band started playing the song and everyone joined in. When it was finished every guest was clapping. Martha stood up to take a bow and pulled Jim Beckett up with her. Both took bows. Beckett and Castle couldn't stop laughing.

Once again the newlyweds heard the klank of glasses. Of course they could not pass up an opportunity to kiss. They owed it to their guests. Then they heard an "Ewww" from Alexis. It was she that tapped the glass. They looked at her and then all three laughed. Alexis then began, "I know that I am not a traditional 'best man' but I am honored and proud to stand up for my father. He is my father and my best friend. He can be overprotective at times, but allows me plenty of freedom to do things on my own terms. There is no safety net for me if I fall, but my Dad is always there to lessen the impact. He is the best teacher I have had and will ever have. He is my sounding board, my go to person, the adult I most look up to and the adult that I have the most fun with. It is tough to raise a father like that."

The guests smiled and laughed. When the others looked at Castle, each handed him a tissue and as a chorus said, "Allergies."

"You can all guess then, I am very protective of my Dad too. I was too young to comprehend everything that was going on when my mom moved out. I was young when Dad married Gina. Grams says Gina was good for Dad as a 'business partner'. I do remember Gina giving me some things and she was always nice to me. She never wanted to play the games my Dad and I loved. She thought them to silly. I think it hurt Dad that Gina did not want to join in all the 'reindeer games.' When they eventually divorced, I was sad because Dad was sad."

"I am sorry sweetheart. I did not know you were sad. I would never do anything to make you sad." Castle said as Beckett was rubbing his arm.

"Actually you hid it very well. After a short time, I could not even tell if you were sad or not. I saw you go out with a wide variety of woman." Kate gave Castle a 'what the ... look'. He quickly turned to Alexis and pleaded for help with his eyes. Alexis then quickly added, "but your interest in any one of them was minimal to none. Soon I began to feel that it was just Dad and me. Sure there was Grams, but Dad and I were the 'A Team'. "

"Thanks a lot kiddo," Martha said with a smile.

"Well..." Alexis was a little flustered. After a minute she continued. "Even when Dad started his relationship with Kate, I knew I was still far and away his main focus. True, we spent less time together, but it was as much me as him. I was busy with school and boys, and he was busy doing his 'research'. I did recognize some early signs that Kate was more to Dad then just another woman."

"Thanks a lot Alexis" Kate laughed out loud.

"I'm not doing this very well, am I?" Alexis said a little sheepishly.

Castle and Beckett answered together "You're doing just fine."

"Well, anyway right after Dad got back from being 'picked up' by Kate the very first time, he said that despite his best efforts, he did not get 'arrested, despite his best efforts.' This had never happened to my 'ruggedly handsome' dad before. Instead of being depressed, or sloughing this off, he made him more determined to move on Detective Beckett, figuratively I mean." Alexis took a deep breath and continued, "Another very early clue I picked up on was when Dad was nervous for a 'date' with Kate. Although he denied it was a date, I could feel his heart beating faster when I was tying his bow tie. When Kate came back to return Grams necklace, a huge smile was on my Dad's face at her presence. I could even detect some happiness and excitement on Kate's part as she recounted the red carpet and other events of that night and day."

Esposito and Ryan shouted out, "More, more our dear fellow grooms person."

"To take a page from Kate and Dad's play book, the evidence of their love story continued to build. I can only tell it from my Dad's point of view but the pieces were numerous. To recount a few, Dad actually apologized for doing some thing impulsive and intrusive like when he started to look deeply into Kate's private life. I thought for sure that neither would forgive the other, but luckily for all us, they did. Then there was the time that Dad flew to Kate's apartment when he figured out that the serial killer was still on the loose. Before that when he was finished with something, he moved on. But he was still thinking about Kate which, thankfully led him to figure out what was really going on."

"Amen" all present said as one.

"In connection with that, I got my first piece of evidence that Kate felt something for Dad. Neither he nor she may have recognized it or even thought about it, but I saw and felt it. Mom and Gina rarely made breakfast for anyone. Any of the other women that stayed overnight expected breakfast to be made for them."

Kate nudged Castle and menacingly whispered to him, "Are these the 'secrets' you are going to tell me about later?"

"Yes, no, I er uh, Have I told you how much I love you?" Castle stuttered.

"You are so easy." Beckett said.

"I will show you how easy later my love." Castle replied as he breathed a sigh of relief.

"When Kate stayed with us after her apartment exploded, she was up the next morning making breakfast, for all of us. I mean for Dad, me and Grams." Alexis said. "I felt she was doing it out of gratitude and not a little out of love. She recounted how happy she was when her mother did the same thing for her family. Kate looked and felt happy and comfortable doing all this for us. It was a warm feeling all around. The food was very good too. Not like the S'morlettes Dad likes to make."

"Hey!"

"Sorry Dad. It was nice having another 'grown up around.' As Dad became more involved with Kate, he became less and less involved with other women. There was an occasional one here or there, but he was not into like before. He was happiest with Kate. Unfortunately he was also saddest with Kate. Sorry Kate, but it was true. I know you did not do it intentionally but there were a number or times Dad hurt. Like the time he wrote a character named 'Detective Schlemming.' I do not know where that came from but I assume it had something to do with another man at the time."

"That was Tom, wasn't it?" Kate looked at her husband.

Castle just shrugged. "I never put him the final book. Alexis said it didn't fit."

"Thank you Alexis." Kate said.

"Don't thank me yet. I now understand about those other times you and Dad seemed to have drifted apart. Back then though, I was very scared and mad. Scared and mad at Dad when he almost got killed at Captain Montgomery's funeral. Then I was mad at you when you did not talk to him for all those months of recovery. Objectively, I understood everything but my Dad was hurt and I wanted to comfort him. I think a turning point in my understanding and accepting the growing relationship was when Grams and Dad where hostages at the bank. I was so scared and when I saw you Kate, I could tell you were very scared too, but tried to keep calm for me and for Dad. You kept your promise to me and got them out alive. I did not thank you at dinner that night, I was a little busy with another crisis, but I was, am and will ever be grateful. Thank you."

Alexis went over to Kate as Kate stood up. Both hugged each other. For the third time that day, Castle felt that river of warmth flow through his body. How could this joy not last forever?

Alexis took the mike again. "Like the great love story this is, it was not over yet. All the evidence was pointing toward this happy ending but I was not yet fully convinced. Kate, you should know that I was very concerned for Dad after my graduation from high school. I thought for sure you would be spending time with him. When I heard he would be alone with 1000 cable channels and his X-Box, I was sad. I was also mad. What happened? Dad did not say anything but I have to say this could only have something, not good, that happened between you two. Maybe that is one of the reasons I drank so much that night."

Kate mouthed to Alexis, "I'm so sorry."

"Then again," Alexis continued, "maybe I was just feeling my oats." Castle had watched that whole exchange. He smiled at Alexis when he caught her acknowledgment of Kate's hurt and then trying to down play it. "I did not catch all the evidence of Dad and Kate's finally coupling the day after my graduation. I was too hungover. I should have realized something was amiss when Dad wanted me to savor and appreciate my first hangover, a right of passage. Eventually he got me aspirin and I slept it off. As the evidence, phone off, not getting me aspirin immediately, coalesced in my mind I realized Dad was with someone special. It could only have been Kate. When this was eventually confirmed to me, I was thrilled and sad at the same time. I was thrilled because I knew Dad was thrilled. I was sad because I thought I was not on the 'A-Team' any more."

Castle and Beckett called out together, "You will always be on the A-Team.'

Continuing Alexis said, "When I was younger, Dad made decisions for us which were life changing, like moving to the loft, marrying Gina and letting Grams move in with us. As I got older we would discuss any life changing decision with the other first. His proposal to Kate was the first life altering decision he made that would effect us without discussing it with me in a very long time. Intellectually I knew what happened, why it happened, how quickly it happened and I was not their to consult. I was ok with it objectively, but emotionally I was in turmoil."

"Maybe that is one reason I brought Pi back with me. My confusion really was with Dad, Kate was nothing but super nice to me. She understood where I was coming from and did her best to stay as neutral as she could. Now that I moved out of the loft, I experienced first hand what love and commitment were. Eventually I realized that what Pi and I had was not what Dad and Kate had. I liked Pi, but that wasn't enough. I saw Dad go through a marriage breakup and knew that what Pi and I had could and would not last. Marriage is tough enough as it is, so when I enter into it, I want it to be like Dad and Kate. Finally, finally, I know that through thick and thin, Kate will be there for Dad, he for she and both for me if I need it. I love them both and cannot now imagine my life without Kate in it. She makes it so much easier to keep Grams on track and raise Dad. To Kate and my Dad, Always."

"To Kate and Rick, always." the guests echoed.

End Note: **Again, I want to thank all who have read the story so far. I hope you have enjoyed it and will continue to the end. I also want to thank all those who have taken time out to write something to me about it. Your words of encouragement drive me on, your constructive criticisms are well listened to and I strive to heed them all. Enjoy the final chapters and remember 'Reviews feed the Muse,' good, bad or indifferent. **


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